Curse of Friends
by Windflight
Summary: And misfortune shall be brought upon those you care about. If you wish for their happiness, you must not love. SasuHina
1. Chapter 1

Okay, yes this is a SasuHina fic. It's a joint project with Walking Green Cucumber, who doesn't really want to post this, but oh well. If you want this fic to continue, make sure you convince her with your reviews! Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to us, but if it did, I would change the pairings to SasuHina and NaruSaku (windflight).

---

In a place not too far away, but not too near, there was a girl living in a cold, dark mansion, her eyes hidden away by her hair.

No one dared to be near her, for she could only bring bad luck and misfortune upon anyone who was close to her, and she cursed herself for it, and she cursed herself for having no control over it.

And so she stood alone. Un-befriended, until a day when a kitten, weak and starving, dragged itself to her front door. It's mews were so pathetically weak that despite herself, she could not bring herself to leave it. She picked it up, and stared into its dull green eyes with her own pale, pupil-less eyes.

"If only you had seen what I had seen, and knew what I did," she murmured, gently stroking the kitten. "Then you would know to stay away."

The kitten could only purr in response, pressing itself into her strokes, and whimpering for food.

The girl sighed, and disappeared into the lonely mansion, her long dark hair swinging after her.

---

She gave the kitten bread and water, feeding it every day and making it stronger.

Soon, she and the kitten became very attached to each other. They played together on the lonely mansion grounds, running around without anyone seeing them. She grew happier and happier as time passed, her heart swelling in cheer and laughter. Although she knew that soon the curse would affect the kitten, she could not bear to part with the only friend she had. Perhaps the curse would not harm the kitten, and perhaps it would be safe. She held on to that hope and kept it with her as a year happily passed by.

It was a mistake that she would regret.

It was a dark and stormy night. The kitten, Kayu, had been gone all day, and so the girl started to worry. She went out and checked all the kitten's favorite hiding spots, but he was nowhere to be seen. Thinking he might have gotten stolen or ran away, she left behind the safety of her familiar home to venture out and ask if anyone had seen him.

Swinging open the mansion's heavy iron gates, she emerged onto a wide street, and started to hurry in her desperation, not caring that she was getting drenched, or that there were hardly any people about whom she could ask. Running around a corner, that's when she saw it- a small, mangled body lying in the middle of the street. She hurried over, bare feet splashing in the rain puddles, and realized it was Kayu. The kitten was lying on its side, its middle completely crushed, and its body stone cold. The girl sank onto her knees, cradling the kitten's corpse, not caring she was in danger of being run over herself.

That day, as the rain pelted down on her thin frame, she made a vow to herself. She would never bring harm to another living creature again. She would isolate her heart completely, as repentance for Kayu's life.

---

Three years later, it was partway through the first semester at Meltan High. It was a boring day as usual, and half the class was asleep under the sweltering autumn heat. Several students snapped awake, their heads quickly lifting off their expensive wooden desks, as a soft knock sounded on the door. The teacher rose in the middle of her lecture about the anatomy of an insect, and answered the door. A delicate girl with loose long hair stepped in. Immediately the class seemed awake as they scrutinized the newcomer carefully.

The girl had midnight blue hair falling in waves down her back, and had skin so pale it seemed to glow against the chalkboard. But what was most striking were her eyes, white pupiless globes tinged with a hint of lavender.

A boy sitting in the back of the classroom gave her a bored look, barely paying attention to what the teacher said, "Class, this is Hinata Hyuuga. She just transferred here today, so we want her to feel welcome and have her enjoy being in our prestigious school."

The mention of 'Hyuuga' was enough so that everyone's attention became riveted on this new girl. Excited murmurs broke out, accompanied with enthusiastic gestures and headshakes.

The boy narrowed his eyes; a Hyuuga, so was it her then? Most likely. But did she recognize him yet? If not, then until the time that... he would treat her like she was just another face in the crowd. He started to turn away, but her pale eyes locked onto his onyx ones. Eyes full of sorrow...

---

Hinata gazed out the window at the sprawling school courtyard, sighing in her mind. Her thoughts traveled back to Kayu... she shook her head, forcing back the tears. No, she mustn't think of him now. She had to keep her promise; she didn't want anyone else to get hurt...

Her mind set and calm again, she switched her attention back to the lesson.

---

He saw her always lost in thought, probably sad thoughts since she always looked so miserable. A strange girl with strange eyes and strange hair, and those incredibly sad eyes... Realizing he was staring at her, he looked away. He wasn't attracted to her of course; he was just curious as to why she looked so sad. That and why she came to this school- whose doing was it?

And yet his eyes constantly wandered over to her...

She was like him. Lonely. Yet she was weak enough to actually show it.

Pathetic.

He turned his attention back onto the teacher, jotting down notes here and there. She would probably be another nuisance, just like Naruto. Except that dope was strong. Not that he would ever admit it.

The bell rang, and many in the classroom snapped awake, eager to escape from the stifling room. The teacher called after them, "Don't forget your essays," but her voice was drowned out by the noise of chitchat. If being in the classroom was bad, the hallways were worse. It was jam packed, and the body heat of hundreds of students significantly raised the temperature.

Sasuke sighed; next was trigonometry. Great, math was the last period. Half the students would be asleep. And to think they didn't have air conditioning in a school with tuition rates at twenty grand a semester.

When he reached the classroom door, however, he was mildly surprised to not be the first one to arrive. A girl was already there, talking with the teacher, and when she turned, he caught a glimpse of those familiar white eyes.

---

Well, hopefully this wasn't too short for you. If you liked it, press the review button, and if you didn't, press it anyways and give us constructive criticism.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so I guess we updated quite quickly this time. I'm glad Walking Green Cucumber agreed to continue with the fic, well, not really agreed, but she didn't really disagree. Anyways, enjoy.

---

Her eyes immediately turned away, and she headed for her seat.

This wasn't the reaction other girls would have; Sasuke knew that he was popular among the girls since they all squealed, fought, and swooned around him. He in turn would shrug them off; call them all idiots and a group of dumb girls trying to impress him with their ugly makeup.

So the way she turned away, too sad and too self-absorbed to even notice they had caught eyes, he was a bit surprised. But why should he care? Even if she wasn't one of those dumb girls, she was still just a weakling.

He took his seat; it was somehow next to hers again. She had her book open, but her eyes traveled to the window, just like before. He watched as each person came in, ignoring her for the entire period.

What a strange, pathetic girl. It was all that he would remember her by.

---

Math passed by surprisingly quickly, but even so almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang. Students all rushed out the door, except for the new girl Hinata, and for some inexplicable reason Sasuke found himself lingering in the classroom longer than usual, perhaps because of his own curiosity.

Hinata turned around, and suddenly caught sight of Sasuke staring at her.

"Oh, Uch-Uchiha-san. Um, s-sorry for keeping you?" she stammered, her face turning red at the thought that someone had been watching her.

"Che," Sasuke replied, quickly turning around and walking out the classroom door. She knew that he was an Uchiha, but apparently she still wasn't aware of the pact. That was fine with him.

---

He had barely gotten to his locker, then had two bodies flung themselves at him. "Sasuke-kun!" they squealed, revealing themselves as Sakura and Ino.

"Where have you been?" Sakura asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Sasuke sighed and tried to walk away- if he knew Sakura like he thought he did, she had already memorized his schedule.

"Wait for me, Sasuke-kun!" Ino cried out.

"He's waiting for me, Ino-pig!"

---

Hinata trudged home silently, her eyes staring into the wide blue sky. Today was such a beautiful day, she thought to herself, and if only Kayu was here... we would have gone to play in the meadow. Knowing that she was all alone on that deserted path, she let a few tears fall.

But she wasn't alone. She was being watched...

---

"Hey Sakura!"

Sakura gave a side glare, "What do you want Naruto?"

Naruto grinned, showing his canine-like front teeth, "Do you want to go out with me?"

"FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME, NO!" Sakura shouted, and then clung onto Sasuke's arm, "I'm going out with Sasuke!"

Ino pushed Sakura, "No, I am! I got him first!"

The girls began quarreling, and Naruto glared at Sasuke angrily. But Sasuke wasn't paying attention to any of them; he just stared straight ahead, hoping to get away from this pack of idiots as quickly as possible.

---

Hinata walked hurriedly, glancing nervously behind every few steps, for she felt like she was being watched. She didn't know when she became aware, but she knew she had to get away.

Suddenly, she tripped over a crack, just one of many that dotted the neglected sidewalk. Luckily, she managed to throw out her hands in time to protect her face, but her palms became scratched and bloody, as well as her kneecaps. She sniffed- it just wasn't her day, was it?

"So is this all that remains of the Hyuuga main branch?" a cold voice asked from behind.

Hinata gasped and spun around to confront her assailant. Her eyes widened in revelation.

"Neji-san."

"Hello Hinata-sama. It's nice to see that you're still alive. Even though my father isn't."

"I... I..." Her heart thudded, and she felt herself inching away from his intimidating eyes.

Her cousin always made her feel scared, worthless, and like someone who should be pitied.

"Hm. Nothing to say?" Neji's eyes glowered at her for a while, and then he turned away. "Where are you going?"

"Back h-home." Her voice was small and quiet.

"You live alone, don't you?" He knew about the curse and mocked her about it, "Because anyone who you even smile at will die! Just like the way you killed off the rest of our clan! Our clan was once part of the elite, and now look what remains! Just two members are left- you and me. And guess who was left with the task of managing the Hyuuga companies? Me. While you just sit around doing nothing, I have to meet with executives, make all the decisions, but the profit all goes to you. Hopeless. Who would ever want to be your friend anyways?"

Hinata suddenly felt rage in her veins; she wanted to shout at him. What did he know? Kayu had been her friend! And... Kayu died. Her rage subsided, and she was left heartbroken and teary-eyed. He was right; anyone who befriended her would only gain misfortune in return, if they were lucky.

He smirked at her, sucking in every bit of her unhappiness. He wanted her to be miserable; he wanted her to feel every single fabric of feeling he once had felt. And he was glad she had the curse; then no one could come near her except for him. Every bit of sadness that appeared on her face would be because of him.

---

Poor Neji. In case you haven't already guessed, Hinata's curse killed Neji's father, as well as the entire Hyuuga clan.

Vote if:

a) you want Neji to like Hinata, but also hate her for killing his father(Walking Green Cucumber's idea)

b) you want Neji to be with Tenten (from the very beginning, I mean, because this is a SasuHina fic, so even if Neji does like Hinata, he won't end up with her)

We haven't really thought this fic very far out, or at least I haven't, so if you want more characters to be in here, you'll have to think of how they'll fit in.


	3. Chapter 3

Whoa, it is so much easier to write a story with two people. Faster to update too. Right now A is winning. Support B! Please? Well, I guess even if I don't like it, Walking Green Cucumber likes it (She supports A for those who don't know). I'll tally the scores before I update chapter 4.

---

Hinata woke up to the sound of rain pitter-pattering against her window. The heavy rhythmic tapping helped to soothe her nerves and brought a drowsy smile onto her face. The distant sound of thunder echoed in her ears.

Then she sighed as she remembered yesterday's events. Luckily for her, Neji-san was too busy running the Hyuuga companies to have time for her. Then again, if his schedule was so full, why did he take the time off to visit her?

The answer came in the beeping message left on the answering machine. Apparently, he had called sometime late last night.

"Hinata-sama, this is Neji. There's an important party that I need you to attend as the Hyuuga heiress. It'll be at the Hyuuga Company's reception hall, and I'm sending a driver to pick you up at around six tomorrow. It's important that you be there. **Stop running away.** Don't forget to wear something nice; this party is very formal."

Hinata looked at down at her hands in shame. Even Neji-san could tell. She had to face her fears sooner or later. But at least Neji-san was safe.

---

Hinata slowly trudged to school, huddling under her small blue umbrella, which was unfortunately too small to provide much protection against the pouring torrent of rain. She sighed, and remembered the time she loved to play in the rain, splashing in puddles and trying to catch the raindrops. But then on that day, the day she lost everything, it had been raining. Now when she looked at the rainy sky... the clouds seemed to threaten to pour blood.

No, it wouldn't do to dwell on the past. But it was hard, especially considering how every time she set foot in the mansion, she was haunted by memories, the ghosts of her past. Then the what ifs would follow- she must have already gone through hundreds of scenarios, but all ended in the same way. Hinata had considered renting an apartment, but she still had to suffer, still had to pay for the lives she had taken.

Uncontrollably, the tears began to fall, tears that mixed with the cold rain pelting down her face, as she stood there, face uplifted to catch the raindrops, her dropped umbrella all but forgotten.

She was about to pick up her umbrella and go back home, when a car, standing out from the rest because of its obviously better quality, pulled up to the sidewalk next to her.

The tinted window rolled down, as Sasuke Uchiha looked out at her.

"What are you doing standing here? If you don't hurry you'll be late," he stated, part of his mind still pondering over the events of that morning. The Hyuuga heiress, could it be her? Then to meet her here, right after his father's announcement, fate was so twisted.

He sighed when he realized she just stood there, rain still pelting down on her thin frame, staring dumbly at him, and gestured to her. "Get in."

"W-what?" she stammered.

"Hurry up before you make me late!" Sasuke barked. If what his father said was true, then he might as well be kind to her.

"H-hai!" she stuttered, quickly climbing into the backseat of the car, picking up and collapsing her muddy umbrella on the way.

"Uchiha-san?" she began, slightly unsure as this was the first favor anyone had done her in a long time.

"Hmm?"

"Than-thank you."

"Hmph."

They drove the rest of the way to school in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

---

Sakura placed her elbows on the desk and leaned against her hands. "My Sasuke-kun is never late! Where is he?"

Ino arrogantly corrected her, "You mean _my _Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura opened her mouth to retort that Sasuke was hers, but the sound of the door sliding open stopped her.

Immediately, the two girls stood up and ran over to Sasuke, squealing his name, each trying to catch his attention. He ignored them as if they weren't there at all, and walked briskly to his desk, revealing a queer and shy looking girl, clothes still dripping wet, who had been huddling behind him.

"Who's that?" The two girls whispered to each other, "Why was she with him?" "Isn't she that new girl?"

Curious and envious, they sulked around Hinata all day. During lunch break, they finally seized the chance to give her a mordant lecture about the morning and warn her to stay away from their Sasuke.

It was easy; Hinata walked in the hallways alone and generally avoided other people.

Although Hinata knew that they were following her, she didn't try to shake them off or tell them to go away. She let them follow her; they would ask her why she was seen with Uchiha-san and she would clear the misconception. Or unintentionally make it more complicated.

In the end they cornered her at a relatively isolated table in the cafeteria, just as she started to eat lunch.

Hinata didn't look up, but rather started munching on her rice balls.

Sakura placed her hands on her hips and frowned, "Hey."

This time Hinata looked up, meeting eye contact, which surprised both girls.

"Y-yes?"

But Sakura was unable to reply, her eyes still locked onto Hinata's. They seemed so sad. There was a depth to them she hadn't noticed before either, a sort caused by suffering. She quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts. Since when had she been so philosophical?

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino began, a hand reaching out to her friend/rival.

"N-never mind. Let's go, Ino." This time it was Sakura's time to stammer, something the self-assured girl just about never did.

"What! But we came to-"

"Let's go Ino," she insisted, startling the blond with her serious tone of voice.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming," Ino replied, as she hurried after Sakura, wondering what had caused the sudden change of mood.

---

Not much happened in this chapter, but the next chapter will definitely be more exciting. Some of you may have ferreted out what's going to happen already, since it's a bit overused, but oh well. I like it.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, A won, although it was pretty close. Anyways, on with the story...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_Sakura placed her hands on her hips and frowned, "Hey."_

_This time Hinata looked up, meeting eye contact, which surprised both girls._

_"Y-yes?"_

_But Sakura was unable to reply, her eyes still locked onto Hinata's. They seemed so sad. Why hadn't she noticed before? There was a depth to them she hadn't noticed before either, a sort caused by suffering._

---

It was just too strange for her, so... scary almost. She had seen sad eyes before, distressed and teary, but none like those.

They were eyes that held true sadness, a haunting one that seemed to echo within her.

Sakura tried to shake it off, but no matter how she tried to forget, the memory continuously made its way back into her mind.

---

Ino was worried; Sakura was acting really strange today. She kept on gazing off into the distance, her eyes hazy and dazed, as if trapped inside her own mind. It was a rare occurrence, since whenever she and Sakura were in a certain radius they mostly cheered, yelled, and quarreled with each other.

"Sakura."

"Hmm…?"

"Sakura!"

Sakura snapped back to reality, "W-wha?" She saw Ino motioning towards her, moving her lips but making no sound. Ino pointed towards the blackboard.

"What?" Sakura looked ahead. The teacher was frowning at her and pointing his ruler at the problem written on the board.

Sakura swallowed a hard lump in her throat. She studied the question for a second, 'easy...' she thought.

Without any hint of nervousness, she answered the question perfectly, smartly, and correctly.

Half disappointed and half pleased, he nodded and then continued with the class.

Sakura sighed in relief, and then promptly lost herself back into her own thoughts. Ino continued to watch her worriedly, wondering 'What ever is she thinking about?'

---

Hinata quickly walked home, making a brief stop to buy groceries. All the while, she wondered what this party Neji-san had arranged was about. It had been a while since the last time she was required to attend a party. It was all because of the curse. 'Then why now?' she puzzled.

'I suppose I should just ask him,' she concluded. 'I'll find out at the party anyways.'

Still, it was just too weird of a day for her. First she was told to attend a party, by Neji no less, who she hadn't seen since, since that incident, and then Uchiha-san gave her a ride, and now the party.

That was right. She still had to thank Uchiha-san. But how? She would have to think of that later. Right now she had to prepare for the party.

She quickly dressed in one of the elegant dresses in her closet; made for occasions like this, and was surprised she hadn't grown too tall for it. After all, it was given to her almost three years ago.

It was a lilac dress that cascaded all the way down to cover her matching white slippers. Simple yet formal. Perfect.

She couldn't think of a way to do her hair, so she just left it that way, hanging loosely, which also helped to create a barrier. As for makeup, well, she didn't really believe in dressing up too much.

The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the limo.

Hinata sighed, something she seemed to be doing quite often lately. It seemed like she just couldn't avoid everything and everyone. Still, it was her duty to attend these parties as the Hyuuga heiress, so she had to be strong. It was her tribute to Kayu, and to the rest of them.

---

The chauffeur opened the door for her, and with a word of thanks Hinata quietly slipped inside the limo. She got a cup of water from the small refrigerator at the side, before sliding into a seat.

"Hello," came the voice, startling Hinata so that she almost spilled her drink.

Hinata turned around to come face to face with a tall girl dressed in a traditional Chinese dress with mousy brown hair stylishly wrapped into two buns on the side of her head. A few strands fell loose to frame the tanned face characterized by two sparkling brown eyes.

"H-hi," Hinata replied shyly.

"My name's Tenten. It's nice to meet you. You must be Neji-san's cousin Hinata-sama," the girl said graciously, inclining her head to show respect.

"Ye-yeah. It's nice to meet you t-too," Hinata stuttered, wondering what this girl was doing in the limo.

She must have seen the question in Hinata's eyes, for girl immediately smiled and brightly stated, "As for why I'm here, well, your cousin Neji-san offered to pick me up for the party."

When Hinata just kept on staring confusedly at the girl, Tenten continued, "I'm one of the senior executives at the Hyuuga Company, so your cousin asked me to be his partner for tonight's party." A slight blush graced the girl's face.

"O-oh. Sorry for being so rude," Hinata apologized, coming to her senses and realizing she had been staring.

"No problem," the girl chirped. Then she stared at Hinata with her face cocked slightly to the side. "By the way, you should put your hair up."

"Wh-wha?" Hinata exclaimed in surprise.

"I think you would look better that way," Tenten declared, and reached into her purse to grab a brush and a few hair accessories.

"B-but," Hinata tried to protest.

"No complaining!" Tenten scolded, winking at Hinata.

"I really a-appreciate your help b-but..." Hinata squeezed her eyes as the brush pulled her hair back, "I don't think that..."

Tenten sighed, "Stop squirming around; if you want it too look good then stay still!"

Hinata stopped protesting. _I really don't think this is going to help me look pretty or anything... why is she even helping me? _

After a few minutes of tugging at Hinata's hair and sticking pins into the pulled back mess, Tenten finally announced, "Okay! All done!" She handed Hinata a mirror.

Hinata stared into the mirror, stricken with horror. She looked...

"You're beautiful!" Tenten grinned and placed her brush and hair accessories back into her bag.

Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun, a few strands of hair falling loose and freely. She sighed; _at least it wasn't makeup..._

She turned to Tenten and bowed her head, "Thank you..."

"Oh, you're welcome. It's a pleasure to help Neji's adorable little cousin!"

"Neji?" Hinata asked, intrigued as to why Tenten would call her cousin by a first name basis.

"Oh, uh, I mean Neji-san, of course," the girl replied, flustered.

"D-do you like N-neji-san?"

"W-ell, you see, I-" for once the talkative girl was at a loss for words. She was saved from talking as apparently they had arrived at the desired destination- the main Hyuuga Company building.

"Oh, lets get going then!" Tenten piped up, an embarrassed smile evident on her face.

"Alright," Hinata agreed, though inwardly she was smiling. She wanted her cousin to be happy, after all he had to go through because of her sake.

They stepped out through the limo door, held open by the chauffeur, and into a sea of flashing cameras. Instantly the reporters pounced on Hinata, whom they recognized as the Hyuuga heiress.

"Hyuuga-sama, after what happened five years ago, are you still ready to take the position as head of the company?"

"What is your comment on-"

"What do you feel about the arrangement?"

"What?" Hinata asked turning to try and find the reporter who had asked the question. It was too late, as the glass doors had already swung shut behind them.

"What arrangement?"

She wanted to go back out and question the reporter, but she was already inside the building, with it's high, arching ceiling, huge chandeliers, exotic delicacies strewn across small tables, and important guests, some of which were beginning to stare at her. She decided it was best to walk away from the doors, and try to blend in with the rest of the crowd. Already she regretted wearing so plain a dress, and was thankful to Tenten for doing her hair.

Tenten looked at Hinata in shock, having overheard her question. "You mean you don't know what the party's for?"

"N-no."

"You really don't?" Tenten asked, eyes wide.

"No. Will you tell me?"

"It's to announce your engagement to-"

"Me," a cold voice cut in.

Both heads whipped around to come face to face to…

"Uch-uchiha-san?" Hinata stammered.

Utterly shocked, Hinata was at the point where she could only stand still and gawk with her mouth open, unable to talk.

How could she be engaged to _him?_ Uchiha Sasuke? She hardly even knew him! Maybe that was why he had helped her when she was in the rain? But why hadn't she known anything about it? Why hadn't Neji told her about it?

Sasuke stood there unflinching, no sign of surprise in his cold, dark eyes. His hands were stuffed inside the pockets of his black pants, and he was fit handsomely in a black tux and black tie.

Tenten waved, "Neji-san!"

Hinata was freed from her shocked state as she turned to see her cousin walking down the carpeted stairs. He looked pretty mad, the veins around his eyes bunching together in anger.

Deep inside, Neji was positively seething with anger, and his outward state reflected that anger which was mainly focused on Sasuke.

Neji held his hand up briefly in greeting, and then passed by Tenten as if she were but a statue.

Tenten was taken back, and her beaming smile quickly faded away.

He walked straight up to Sasuke, pushing Hinata aside. Tenten quickly caught Hinata; both girls were startled at Neji's inexplicable behavior.

Tenten whispered, "I'm so sorry about him... he's not usually like that. I don't understand why he's being that way."

Hinata saw the concern and hurt in Tenten's eyes, "Don't worry, he's always like that around me."

Neji, sensing the girls weren't paying any attention to them, softly, yet with a hint of malice, growled, "Uchiha."

Sasuke kept his cool, and nodded "Hyuuga" in return.

Neji looked outraged at the Uchiha's calm response, and seemed to be about to retort, but bit back his tongue upon notice of his surroundings. He was a Hyuuga after all, and Hyuugas weren't supposed to lose their cool.

Instead, he started walking to a secluded corner of the room, his eyes commanding the Uchiha to follow.

Sasuke knew he was being baited, but it was best to be polite, so he followed the Hyuuga to where they could talk privately.

Once he was certain they would not be overheard, Neji hissed at Sasuke, "Why bring up the engagement now, Uchiha?"

"It was agreed to at birth by my parents and your deceased uncle, the head of the Hyuugas," Sasuke stated, avoiding the question.

"I know that, but why now?" Neji asked, in a threatening tone. Realizing a few of the guests close to them were beginning to stare, he quickly lowered his voice. "I mean, why now, only a year after what your brother did?"

"The engagement was to engage the Uchiha heir with the Hyuuga heir. The heir is me now, not Itachi, so I suggest you leave my brother out of this," Sasuke said, his jaw clenched. His brother was a touchy subject, and he wouldn't allow anyone to get away with insulting him that way, regardless whether or not they were a Hyuuga.

Sasuke started to stalk away, but paused to remind Neji who he was, "Don't forget that now I'm the only one who can save your precious heiress."

And in the lighting, his eyes appeared to flash red, blood red, a grim token of that day when Neji had blundered, and of the curse that still lived on.

---

"Um... Tenten-san?" Hinata blushed, "What am I supposed to do at this party?"

"Hm? Oh, come on, first you have to greet some people." Tenten took Hinata's hand and led her across the room, "Do you know how many people have been waiting to meet you?"

Hinata nearly jumped, "Me! Why would an-anyone ever want to meet me?"

Tenten paused, giving Hinata an incredulous stare, "Don't be modest."

Hinata shook her head, "I-I'm not! I'm the outcast of the Hyuuga family."

"No you're not! You and Neji-san are the only ones left of the famed Hyuuga family, so you two are like an endangered species! Also, you're _engaged _to Uchiha Sasuke. Who wouldn't want to meet you?"

Hinata looked down in shame; of course, it was all because of her position, because she was the heir to the Hyuuga fortune. No one seemed to care that it was her fault the Hyuugas were almost extinct. And the engagement to Uchiha Sasuke, it just hadn't quite sunk in yet.

"Oh, that's right!" Hinata blurted out her thoughts.

Tenten twirled around to see what was wrong. "Huh?"

Hinata covered her mouth, her cheeks turning crimson. "I'm sorry... I-I just thought of something."

Tenten opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped, her attention fixed on something over Hinata's shoulder, her eyes growing wider and her face turning paler. She stuttered, "U-um... I'll go get drinks for us." She briskly walked away, sneaking a few apologetic glances at Hinata.

_Is something the matter? _Hinata wondered, and then she looked down on the floor. Was her shadow usually that large? No, so someone must be behind her.

"Oi."

"U-uchiha-san," Hinata gulped nervously, recognizing the voice. Then she slowly turned around, only to be met by a pair of intimidating black eyes.

"C-can I help you?" she squeaked, fighting the urge to run after Tenten.

For a moment, Sasuke just stared menacingly down at her, then snorted and turned away.

"Just don't get in my way."

'Huh?' Hinata thought, surprised at his response. It wasn't at all what she thought he would say, given the hatred she could almost sense swirling around him. But it wasn't directed towards her, was it? She was left staring at the Uchiha's retreating back in surprise.

"Here, Hinata-sama, I brought the drinks."

Hinata gave a start, before realizing that it was Tenten. "T-thanks," Hinata stammered, still visibly shaken by the encounter.

"Oh, you're welcome. Sorry about abandoning you like that. It was just, well he looked angry," Tenten apologized.

"It's alright, Tenten-san," Hinata reassured. She paused. "You really d-don't have to call me Hinata-sama."

"Really? But is that all right? I mean you're the Hyuuga heiress."

"Don't worry," Hinata smiled, making a mental note to herself. She was already getting too close to Tenten. It had to stop, before Tenten also got injured.

---

Well, what do you think? Slight cliffhanger, no?


	5. Chapter 5

I would have updated this sooner, but it wouldn't let me log in, so that's my excuse. Here's a message from Walking Green Cucumber:

_BY THE WAY EVERYONE! IMPORTANT IMPORTANT READ HERE READ HERE READ HERE! I'm surprised ya didn't mention this... -clears throat-_

Okay, the voting can stop. The conclusion has been decided (and whoever said Hell no to A and said bad things about it... too bad u suckers) Angel and I have talked... and talked... and talked... and found an agreement in our ideas.

We have decided to not do A or B, but AB! Yay! Now applaud... because it took us time and effort to come up to this conclusion. Okay, that's all I gotta say, besides this: That's no cliffhanger(referring to last chapter)!  
X-X If you want cliffhanger leave it to me!

I really don't get what she means by AB, but somehow it'll work out. Enjoy the rest of the story.

Disclaimer:We do not own Naruto (are disclaimers really neccessary?)

* * *

_Ding Ding_

There was a slight chiming of the bell to gather everyone's attention. The people looked towards the front of the room, to the small mini stage set up before the party, and craned their necks to see the engaged couple standing on the stage together.

Neji stood in front of the two, an indifferent look forcibly pasted on his face, with a microphone in hand. Behind him stood Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, the parents of Sasuke.

He stared down at the crowd, and began to speak, "Today you have all been invited to witness the engagement between our two clans, the Hyuuga and Uchiha. From this day forward," Neji handed the two of them rings, his eyes narrowing slightly at Sasuke "Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata," He took in a hesitating breath, "... are engaged."

Hinata felt a shiver run down her spine, and edged away from the crowd, trying to hide her small blushing form behind Neji and keep away from Sasuke while doing so. There was a crowd cheering down there... cheering for her engagement to a person she hardly knew. Could she stand this?

Sasuke stood there holding a glittering golden ring, feeling Neji's ominous aura radiating around him, and listening to the crowd applauding.

"Would any of you like to say anything?"

Hinata shook her head softly, and tried to further remove herself from the gaze of the crowd.

"And you?"

Sasuke stood as silent as a statue.

"Well then," Mikoto laughed, coming to the front of the stage. She was an elegant woman with ivory pale skin and kind black eyes. "Since my son and his fiancée seem to be too shy to say anything, why don't we just enjoy the party?"

The crowd, catching her good spirits, laughed and went back to whatever they were doing before the announcement.

"I hope I'll get to know you well," Mikoto smiled, turning her attention to Hinata as they walked off the stage.

"Me too," Hinata whispered, still shocked at the night's events. "It was nice meeting you, Mikoto-san," Hinata bowed, catching sight of her cousin. "If you'll please excuse me, I have to meet with someone."

"Of course," Mikoto beamed. Then watching Hinata's retreating back, she turned to whisper sadly to her husband, "To have such a burden laid upon her shoulders, and at such a young age. I hope our Sasuke can save her."

"..."

---

Hinata hurried to catch up to her cousin, ignoring the looks the guests were giving her. Some wore looks of pity, while others stared at her in jealousy and hatred.

She finally found him, talking to a lazy looking man with hair pulled up into a ponytail, whose head slightly resembled a pineapple.

"The company stocks have been rising, with the new software we just released being quite successful, and with a bit of luck this announcement could help its growth," the man drawled.

Hinata waited patiently next to her cousin until he turned his attention on her.

"Hinata-sama, this is Nara Shikamaru, he's in charge of designing new software for the company."

"Nice to meet you," Hinata politely bowed.

"You too," the man nodded. "If you two want to talk, go ahead. I'll go find Chouji. He's in charge of marketing by the way. A bit touchy, those artists."

The man slowly sauntered away, looking for his friend by the food tables.

"Yes, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked, even though he knew what she was about to ask.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Hinata asked in an angry whisper, forgetting her cousin's grudge against her.

"I didn't think it was that important, and I myself just learned of it recently." Yet her cousin avoided meeting her eyes.

"Y-you could have at least told me," Hinata weakly protested, realizing that whether or not she knew wouldn't have changed the outcome. Her father's word was law, even when he was dead.

"Hinata-sama, you must realize he is an Uchiha. Only the Uchihas' powers can help you now." Deep inside, Neji was angry with himself for being unable to stop the engagement. Even if he hated her, she was still his cousin, and, and he cared about what happened to her.

Neji quickly began to walk away from Hinata, and easily escaped into the crowd. It was his fault Hinata was cursed, and no matter how much he denied it, no matter how much he tried to blame her, there was always that nagging voice in the back of his head blaming him.

---

Hinata stood there staring at the retreating back of her cousin. 'Only the Uchihas' powers can help you now...'

Why? Why did it have to be them? Hinata was still so confused; everything was so frustratingly complicated...

She slipped into one of the rooms set aside for people to relax in, slumped onto a nearby chair, and hid her face in her hands.

---

Tenten was running around searching for Hinata, "Have you seen the Hyuuga Hinata anywhere?"

Everyone she had asked had replied no. _Where is she?_ Tenten worried, _She disappeared after the announcement, so maybe she ran away? No... she's too sensible, but still I'm worried..._

She finally found her in one of the vacant rooms, slumped on a chair.

"Hinata-san! Were you here the whole time? What are you doing?" She nudged Hinata to get her to stand up.

Hinata looked up, her vision slightly blurry and her hands still wet. Had she been crying? She quickly looked down, hoping Tenten hadn't seen how wet her eyes were. But almost nothing escaped Tenten's sharp eyes.

She handed Hinata a handkerchief, "Here, wipe your eyes dry, don't use your hands."

Hinata gratefully took it, "Th-thank you..." It came out almost like a hoarse whisper.

Tenten just smiled, as if in understanding.

---

The clock struck eleven, and both Tenten and Hinata excused themselves from the party. Hinata noticed that Neji and the Uchihas were still there, but surely her presence wasn't required anymore. It had been an exhausting day.

The two piled into the limo, and the whole drive was silent, until they arrived at Hinata's house.

"Hinata-san?" Tenten tentatively began, as Hinata was about to step out of the limo.

"Yes?"

"We should hang out more often."

"S-sorry Tenten, but I don't know if I'll have the time," Hinata hurriedly rushed, her mind still on the curse. But seeing Tenten's crestfallen face, she quickly apologized. "I'll contact you if I have the chance."

"Alright," Tenten agreed, still not completely convinced. "Chao."

"Bye."

---

Hinata sat on the edge of her bed, dressed in a nightgown and slowly running a comb through her hair. It was a tiring day, she thought, as she stared at the glittering golden ring perched on her hand.

Her last thought before the blissful waves of sleep claimed her was, _I hope the girls at school don't get too angry._

---

"INO!" Sakura screamed on the phone.

"WHAT!" Ino screamed back, furious that Sakura had to call her at one o'clock.

"Sasuke-kun... he's... he's... he's ENGAGED!"

Ino chuckled, "Heh, don't be funny Sakura..."

There was a sob on the other side, "You are joking, right?" Ino asked, a tone of panic in her voice as she realized Sakura wasn't acting.

"I'm not! And he's not just engaged to anyone... but to Hyuuga Hinata!"

"WHAT?" Ino leaped out of bed, her entire body stunned and her heart completely stopping. "I can't, I-I just can't believe it!"

"Neither can I..."

"But Sasuke-kun is _mine_! It's impossible!"

"My mom just came back from their engagement party, she told me everything that happened! She saw them get rings, and they announced it!"

"Your mom's just teasing you, don't listen to her!" Ino shouted and then slammed down her phone. Her body quivered, "She's lying... Sakura and her mother... she has to be lying." Ino closed her eyes and then crawled back into her bed. She tried to sleep, but Sakura's words rang inside her head and she lay awake all night.

---

The next day, Sasuke and Hinata's engagement was all over the place, on TV, in the newspapers, magazines, and was the topic of everyone's conversation at school. They were, after all, heirs to two of the most elite clans in Japan.

Sakura ran to Ino during homeroom, waving a newspaper, "Ino-pig! Ino-pig! I told you so!"

"I know. Shut up." Ino replied in a deadpanned voice; she had hardly gotten a wink of sleep last night and it was all because of Sakura.

"But what are we going to do, Ino?" Sakura asked, tears beginning to well up. "We've known Sasuke-kun for years, so why does she get him?"

"Sakura, lately I've been thinking-" Ino cut off, not quite sure how to break it to the forehead girl. "Maybe we should stop chasing after Sasuke-kun," Ino tentatively began.

"WHAT?" Sakura shrieked, forcing Ino and nearby bystanders to cover their ears.

"You. Are. Crazy. Ino-pig." Sakura finally spit out between clenched teeth. "I don't care what you say, but I'm not giving up."

With that, she stormed out of the classroom, uncaring of the stares of her fellow classmates. One of them in particular looked on with very sad eyes.

"If only you would notice me," the fox boy whispered.

---

Hinata liked it better when she stood unnoticed, because now everyone would whisper, stare, and give her glares as she walked by. When she sat in her seat by the window, she shuddered. There were people glowering at her, mad at her...

And it was all because of her sudden engagement with Sasuke. They hardly even knew each other, but one day they were suddenly paired together. Now they passed each other in the hallways without a flicker of recognition.

Marriage was a bond between two lovers, but Hinata and Sasuke did not love each other, and perhaps they never would.

Hinata sighed, at least they didn't hate each other... maybe one day they could learn to be friends. Besides, she had to obey her duty; she had done nothing for her clan in the past years, except bring death. This time at least she could be of some use to her clan, and the Uchihas did have the power to heal this curse of hers... but would it really work?

-

Meanwhile, Sakura watched Hinata with distaste and hostility.

"_Why?"_ she asked herself over and over. Her rational side knew that it was an engagement, that nothing she said or did would have changed it, even if Sasuke had loved her. She wasn't from a strong clan like Hinata was; her family was rich, but not nearly as rich as Hinata. But it didn't make it any better, especially when she caught sight of Hinata's ring, an exact duplicate of the one on Sasuke's finger.

Sakura knew that if she tried, she could find plenty of good boyfriends; she was smart, and pretty. But none of them could match up to Sasuke.

It wasn't fair! She had sent Sasuke gifts for Christmas, his birthday, and of course Valentines Day for the past three years, ever since she had met him. She had personally baked the cookies, and took hours wrapping her gifts so that they would stand out among the hoard of other gifts he got. She had even grown out her hair for him because she heard he liked girls with long hair!

Now this Hyuuga, she just came in and took Sasuke from her without even trying! She wouldn't let this happen to her Sasuke. Not ever. Sakura stood up with a determined expression and stalked towards Hinata's desk.


	6. Chapter 6

Yay, we're updating on a weekly basis! I've never been able to do that working alone (too lazy). Lets all thank Walking Green Cucumber for that. Okay, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (can someone tell me if these are necessary?)

* * *

Ino, on the other side of the room, saw Sakura approaching Hinata.

She dropped her cup, nearly choking over the water still in her mouth. "Oh great... Sakura..."

---

Sakura felt her skin prickling with a combined flame of anger, jealousy, and spite. She slammed her hands loudly on Hinata's desk, making Hinata jolt back in surprise.

"You..." Sakura glared, "You stole my Sasuke!"

"I'm s-sorry Sakura," Hinata stammered. "I didn't m-mean to-"

"Oh, shut up, it's your fault in the first place. Why did you even have to come to our school? You ruined everything!" She raised her hand in the air.

Hinata closed her eyes, she knew what was going to happen next, _I can avoid it... but maybe it'll make her feel better if she hits me. I really can't blame her... I'm so useless._

A dark and graceful figure glided over and stepped between Sakura and Hinata, and the slap meant for Hinata landed on Sasuke.

Sakura's eyes widened, her mouth letting out a terrified gasp, and she immediately withdrew her hand, putting it over her mouth. "Sasuke! I-I" She stuttered, her heart pounding rapidly. _Oh my god... I just hit Sasuke!_

Ino, who had been watching cautiously, gasped the same thought.

Hinata, who had heard the slap but felt nothing, opened her eyes to find someone's back in front of her desk.

Sasuke hadn't flinched; the slap was nothing to him. He stared down at Sakura, not menacingly but warningly. "It's not her fault," was all he said. Then he turned to Hinata, "Don't be so weak," and walked away, the crowd that had gathered stepping back to let him through.

Sakura's heart felt like it had shattered, her face was pale and her body trembled. She had hit Sasuke... Sasuke had... had... defended that girl, that nasty girl! How could this be possible! This was all a dream; it had to be. It wasn't real- soon she would wake up in her own bed, soon she would find out Sasuke wasn't engaged.

Her knees shook and she collapsed on herself. She covered her face, wanting to cry.

Someone gripped her hand, helping her up gently. It was Hinata.

Sakura looked at her questionably through her haze of tears. "Why?"

Hinata didn't answer, instead just murmured a soft, "I'm sorry."

Sakura couldn't stand the kindness she was being shown. Why would the Hyuuga help her even after she tried to slap her? She was pretending. Yes, that was it. It was all just to look good in front of Sasuke.

"Don't touch me!" Sakura hissed, running out of the room, even as her heart told her she had made a mistake. She would not submit to the Hyuuga. She was smart, and beautiful. She would win, because she always came out top.

---

As Hinata looked after Sakura sadly, wondering if it was her fault yet again, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Ino.

"Look, I'm really sorry about Sakura. I think she knows she's lost, but her pride can't take it. She's really a good person, once you get to know her," Ino apologized, amidst Hinata's surprised eyes. "Will you give her another chance?"

"I-Ino, you aren't mad at me?"

"Sort of, I guess." Ino admitted, rubbing her neck in embarrassment. "But I kind of already gave up on Sasuke-kun a long time ago. Mainly I just competed with Sakura for Sasuke because I was angry at her, and wanted to punish her."

"_For what?"_ Hinata wanted to ask, but instead she smiled, "Thank you."

"No problem," Ino smiled, before heading back to her desk. "I hope we can be friends."

"_I hope not," _Hinata thought, reminded of the curse. Lately, her mind kept on drifting towards Kayu and the curse, especially because of the engagement to the Uchiha clan. The clan with powers made to oppose her own.

---

Sakura ran out of the classroom and zoomed down the hallway, feeling tears fly off her cheeks.

_I like Sasuke-kun... I really like Sasuke-kun... I..._

She skidded around the corner, and carelessly rammed straight into something that felt as hard as a brick wall. "Ow!" She cried, falling onto the floor, "Watch i-"

"Hey Sakura-chan, are you okay?"

It was Naruto. What a total disappointment, running into a loser like him... she got up, wiped her face quickly, then snorted, "Tch, duh I'm okay."

"I... I heard about Sasuke..." His eyes were flatter than usual, and his voice not that confident, like he was almost afraid that he would hurt Sakura.

Sakura stood up boldly, "I know. But he doesn't love that Hyuuga, he'll never marry her, only for his clan. He'll come to me...someday." She felt her body quivering a bit, _a lie Sakura... that's a lie... _"It's not a lie!" Sakura screamed furiously, then darted past Naruto.

But he caught her wrist and pulled her back, his eyes open and his face serious, caring. "If there's anything you want to talk about to make you feel better, I'll always be here for you. You may still like Sasuke but I'll wait. As long as it takes." He looked determined.

Sakura stared, was this really Naruto? How could she have not noticed... that he... he really did care for her? That he wasn't kidding around, that he really wanted to help her, even after all the spite she had shown him. Perhaps she should just give him a chance, and not be so cruel next time.

Sakura smiled a bit, her eyes growing teary, "Thank you... Naruto..."

Naruto grinned in return, the trademark grin he was famous for. "No problem. So then, will you go on a date with me?" he asked, completely ruining the moment.

"NO WAY!" Sakura yelled, punching Naruto to punish him for his silliness. Still, she soon found herself giggling at Naruto's antics. For a moment surprise flickered across Naruto's features, before he joined in with the laughter.

"Thank you Naruto, but I just can't give up yet," Sakura apologized, wiping away the last of the tears. "I really am grateful to you, though."

Naruto smiled sadly down at Sakura. "It's alright. I'll still be here when you turn around."

Sakura gave Naruto one last departing smile before heading back to the classroom, walking slowly this time, and with a small smile gracing her face.

Naruto stared at Sakura's retreating figure for a while before a grin wound its way to his face and he headed back to his own classroom.

---

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Hinata was so happy someone, no two people, had helped her, and yet there was a lingering doubt. Was it alright for her to be happy? Was it alright to be grateful to Ino, especially with her curse? And what about the Uchiha? What was his motive for helping her?

Hinata was still trying to sort out her questions as she walked out of the school. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the figure standing by the doorway, despite the loud whispers from adoring girls around her. She was about to walk right past when she felt the tap on her shoulder. She turned around in question, only to meet a set of blank white eyes identical to her own.

"Neji-san?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"I've come to pick you up. We have a board meeting. Let's go." Three sentences, brief and to the point.

As Hinata exited the building, she heard the whispers of the bystanders.

"Kyaa! Hinata has such a cool brother!"

"Idiot, that's her cousin! Haven't you read the news? That's Hyuuga Neji, he's taking care of the Hyuuga Company right now."

"I wish I was her."

"She's so lucky to have such a good looking relative."

'I'm not lucky at all,' Hinata thought. 'If only they knew. I would love to trade places with any one of them.'

---

"Hey Hinata-san! You came!" Someone popped out of the limo.

It had been a week since Neji had started picking Hinata up at school. Since then, there had been frequent meetings with the executives of the Hyuuga Company to discuss the future of the company, particularly about the possible merge with the Uchihas' companies.

At first it had been embarrassing, with the jealous stares from her classmates, partially caused by the engagement issue, but she had gotten used to it. Not like any of them talked to her anyways. And even if they did, it wasn't like she could talk back.

Hinata took a step back in surprise. "Tenten-san? What are you doing here?"

Tenten gave a wide grin, "What, I work with Neji-san, remember? So we get to go together!" She pulled Hinata in; Neji was already seated opposite of the two girls.

She felt stiff and awkward around her cousin who always seemed to be criticizing her; she wished it was just her and Tenten. Or maybe it would be better if she was all alone.

"You never called." Tenten pouted.

Neji's eyes suddenly looked up with alarm.

"I... I didn't have a lot of time... you know... with this engagement and all?" Hinata shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

Tenten waved her hand in forgiveness, "Oh well, that's okay, since you probably have a lot of stress with the engagement" a small nudge, "I'll let it off."

Neji straightened his back a bit, his ears sharp. Tenten and his cousin were getting a bit too close... and he didn't really enjoy this 'engagement' talk either.

"So... um... anything?" Tenten whispered quietly, making sure Neji wasn't paying attention. _It's girl talk... Neji shouldn't listen; he wouldn't understand it. _

"Wha?" Hinata blushed red, "What are you talking about?"

"You know... did... anything happen? Anything interesting?"

Hinata fidgeted a bit, unsure of how to answer. "Well... um..."

"Here's a copy of the stock performance." Neji slammed down a thick packet filled with various graphs and text (sorry if this is wrong, but I don't understand this type of thing very well).

Hinata jumped, not expecting her cousin to interrupt like that.

"You should both look over them, as we'll be discussing this issue during the meeting." The comment seemed to be directed at Hinata.

"Yes, Neji-san," Hinata agreed amiably, while Tenten slightly pouted.

"Make sure you know those well, memorize as much as you can. Today you'll be in charge of most of the meeting, as you'll soon be taking over the company," Neji informed Hinata, a slight touch of bitterness in his voice.

"Yes, Neji-san," Hinata agreed again.

"Oh, and the Uchihas will be there," Neji added, distain evident in his voice.

It grew quiet in the limo, as both girls skimmed over the sheets, Tenten skipping those she had already gone over.

"Neji-san?" Hinata suddenly asked. "Why do you hate the Uchihas?"

Neji stared at her for a while. Finally he replied, "I just do," an undignified answer for one of his status.

Truthfully, Neji knew fully well why he hated the Uchihas so much, the Uchiha heir in particular. But he would never ever tell his cousin. He could barely admit it to himself.

---

Hinata stepped into the conference room, feeling insecure as a dozen eyes swerved on her and the conversations piped down. Neji and Tenten entered close behind. She walked the length of the table and chose the seat at the very head. Neji sat to her left, and Tenten farther down the table. The empty seats to her right were reserved for the Uchihas who had yet to arrive.

As the conversations slowly began again, Hinata chose that moment to look cautiously around the table. Next to Neji sat a red haired man, a tattoo etched upon his brow and his eyes closed in indifference. His tag read Gaara, chief of finance. Next to him was Shikamaru, talking to a fat (not chubby) man, Chouji, director of marketing. Then sat Tenten, human resources, and a thick browed man whose tag was too far down for Hinata to read.

A few more minutes passed before the door opened again. This time a blond woman, name tag Temari, stepped into the room. She walked up to Neji and whispered a something to him. Neji's eyes narrowed for a moment before he nodded.

"Everyone quiet down." Immediately the room became silent. "The Uchihas will be a bit late, so we'll begin without them. Temari-san will be the representative in their place."

Neji nodded to the blond woman who gave a small bow before sliding into the vacant seat opposite of Gaara. The man had finally opened his eyes, and nodded at Temari in recognition. Hinata wondered at the possibility of a relation, as pointed out by their closely resembling bone structure. Siblings?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Neji announced, "Let's start the meeting."

* * *

Okay, so that wasn't a cliffhanger, but I did have a great idea for one. Except if I tried incorporating it into the story it would've taken too long.


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter should explain a bit more about Hinata's curse. Hopefully. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

The meeting dragged on, until they lost sight of the focus of the meeting all together. Small conversations broke out as everyone waited for the arrival of the extremely late Uchihas. Temari was doing a great job, but some details required the presence of the Uchiha head as well as the heir.

Finally, the sound of a cell phone broke shattered the cloak of boredom that had settled over the room. It was Temari's.

"Hello. Temari speaking."

Hinata was puzzled as to why Temari had her cell phone on during the meeting. Very unprofessional. Unless, had something happened to the Uchihas that required her to be interrupted in the middle of a meeting? It couldn't be, could it?

"Alright," Temari listened intently

Hinata glanced at Neji, her face quickly growing pale. Neji saw the worry on her face and in a rare moment of kindness to his cousin whispered, "Don't worry; remember who they are. The blood protects them from your powers."

"I know that, but what about Mikoto-san? She's an Uchiha but she doesn't have the Uchiha blood," Hinata whispered back, feeling her body starting to tremble.

Neji's eyes widened as he realized Hinata was right. He turned to Temari as if to ask her to deny it, but her next sentence only confirmed his suspicions.

"Really, is she going to be all right?" Temari asked in a concerned voice.

Hinata sat shock still until Temari had hung up after a few more words.

"I'm sorry, but the Uchihas will not be able to attend this meeting," Temari announced as she stood up. "Mikoto-sama was hit by a car. She's in critical condition, but she's stabilizing."

There were mutters of apologies and condolences from around the room. Hinata just sat there, looking ahead and trying to deny the truth. It couldn't be because of her. She had barely even talked to Mikoto-san. It had to be just a regular accident. But then again she had avoided all unnecessary contact for years. Maybe the curse grew stronger over time? No, it couldn't be, it couldn't! Then how?

She was briefly aware that people were starting to file out of the room. She didn't budge, not even when Tenten tapped her on the shoulder. She could only look at the older girl in a daze. What if she was her next innocent victim?

---

Hinata waved half-heartedly at the occupants of the limo, worry worming through her heart.

She watched the limo drive away under the darkness of the night. She felt like she was a plague carrier, her curse continuously leaking out of her and spreading over to others without her knowledge...

How could it have gotten to Mikoto-san just through a brief conversation? Was it because Mikoto-san had been too kind to her, too forgiving?

If it could cause that much damage from such a short meeting... if her curse was growing more and more deadly... could that mean...

Hinata shook at the thought, and her trembling legs gave way leaving her sprawled down on the concrete. She lay there for a while, waiting for her pain to gradually ease away.

Tenten.

Tenten could be drastically hurt. Would she die like Kayu Would she share the same fate as her family, as her past friends? Or... worse? What could be worse than death? No, they barely knew each other. No one could become as close to her as her family, as Kayu had been.

Hinata breathed in slowly, the pain finally gone. She got up and wearily climbed up the stairs, through her house, and into her bed.

All night she brooded over the thought of Tenten... and maybe even Ino... getting hurt badly. And it would all be her fault, if only she knew how to stop it.

"I have to... stop being friends with Tenten..." She whispered sadly as her droopy eyes closed and she fell into slumber.

---

Tenten scribbled a few things in her notebook, "Yeah, okay, bye." She closed her cell phone and stashed it and her notebook back into her pocket.

Neji watched Tenten carefully. His cousin and his executive here... were getting a bit too close...

Tenten noticed Neji's watchful glare and smiled at him curiously, "Hm? What's up?"

He frowned, "You're too friendly."

Tenten laughed, "What do you mean?"

"Some friendships may hurt."

Tenten laughed again, "You're saying strange things Neji-san..."

He sat back, knowing Tenten wouldn't take him seriously, "You should consider my words before you get badly injured."

Tenten didn't laugh this time, "What are you talking about?"

The limo stopped before either of them could say anything again.

"Well, it's my stop. TTFN (Ta ta for now) Neji-san!" She waved at Neji and stepped out of the limo.

Neji rolled down the window and said warningly, "Don't get too close to Hinata." And then the limo drove off.

Tenten stood there stunned for a while, his sentence ringing in her head. "I just don't get him anymore."

---

Sasuke sat in just outside the emergency room, a stoic look pasted onto his face. A speeding car had hit their limo, and ironically, his mother, the only one who always wore her seat belt, was also the only one who got hurt. The rest of them including the driver of the speeding car escaped with superficial injuries.

Sasuke just could understand what had happened. One moment they had been fine, driving along a conference, and the next moment his mother was in the emergency room. The doctors said she had stabilized, but they only let his father go in to see her.

Why had this happened? What had they done wrong? Was it to punish them for his brother's actions, or maybe, maybe it was the Hyuuga.

It clicked; the curse, his mother, and the accident happening right before the conference. Sasuke stood up and headed for a nearby phone booth.

"Sasuke, where are you going?" It was his father, stepping out of his mother's room.

"To give the Hyuugas a piece of my mind. They did this didn't they? Well, answer me?" Sasuke demanded angrily.

"Your mother wouldn't want you to blame the Hyuugas," his father warned.

"Do you think I care? It's their fault!" Sasuke practically snarled.

"What about what Itachi did? Should we be blamed for that too?"

Sasuke's shoulders slumped, realizing the truth of what his father said. It also shocked him to hear his father mention Itachi with such a cold tone of voice.

"It's different. He's a traitor."


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, so we said we would update every week, but we didn't, reason being we didn't like the last chapter 8 so we deleted it and rewrote it. So here it is.

* * *

"It's different. He's a traitor."

Sasuke turned away, his anger dissipating and his walk sagging a bit.

_Why did he bring it up... it... hurts whenever I remember._

Fugaku watched as his son stalked away, trusting him to not call the Hyuugas.

---

Sasuke turned the corner and walked until he ended up in a dark and deserted corridor of the hospital. He pressed his forehead into the plastered wall, wanting to punch it until it or his fist broke. But his common sense prevailed as he realized it wasn't the most appropriate hospital behavior. His common sense also told him he shouldn't hurt that stupid cursed girl just because he was mad either, no matter how much he wanted to do so.

He squeezed his eyes shut, _I will make control that curse… or else I will kill her._

---

_Ring Ring..._

Hinata's hand trembled as she reached out for the phone.

_Ring Ring..._

She didn't know what to do.

_Ring Ring..._

She read it again to make sure

_Caller ID: Tenten_

No, she shouldn't pick up the phone! She had vowed to never speak to Tenten

again!

_Ring Ring..._

The ring was so persistent, if only Tenten would give up. Maybe Hinata would pretend she wasn't home.

_Ring Ring..._

Maybe it was important? An emergency?

And... if she stopped talking to Tenten... wouldn't Tenten feel hurt, especially because Hinata was Neji's cousin?

_Ring Ring..._

Hinata was nearly in tears now... What should she do?

_Ring... _

"Hello? Hinata? Are you there?"

Hinata held her breath, "I... I have to talk to you about something very... important."

"And so do I." Tenten's voice sounded sober.

Hinata really didn't like the sound of this.

"Did you know that Neji-san," Tenten asked, her voice almost a whisper. "Today, he-he,"

"What did he say, Tenten-san?" Hinata asked, her mind frantically going over the possible things Neji could have told Tenten. Did he tell her about the curse?

"He was weird!" Tenten burst out laughing.

"Huh?" Hinata questioned, confused at Tenten's sudden outburst.

"You should have heard yourself!" Tenten giggled, "You sounded so concerned! What, did you think I was going to say? That he had an incurable disease and was going to die? Seriously though, are you okay?" Tenten's voice grew more serious.

"Ye-yeah," Hinata lied. She had almost collapsed in relief when she realized it was all a joke.

"What did you want to say?"

"U-um, I forgot," Hinata apologized. Her previous determination was all but gone. She could tell Tenten later, right?

"Okay then! I'll call you later then!" Tenten chirped. "Bye!"

Tenten hung up before Hinata could reply. Hinata stood there for a while, staring at the phone and wondering what had just happened. Tenten sounded so happy, but… but wouldn't it be better to break off the friendship sooner rather than later?

---

Temari held the camera up high. "Stand still... I have just one shot at this..."

The blue bird with its proudly puffed up chest, suddenly looked up from it's cleaning habits.

Someone was coming.

And that someone was certainly making enough sound to alert the bird. Temari put her camera down, as the bird flew away, a boy walking up to replace the bird.

"Yo Temari." The boy frowned. "You look upset."

Temari felt anger boiling deep inside her, "That was just my next masterpiece. You scared it away Shikamaru!"

He shrugged, glancing over to where the sun was rising, "I came to watch the clouds."

Temari forgot her anger, peace entering her as she watched the rising sun and inhaled the park's fresh pine scent. "I see..." It was unusual to see two high-ranking executives of two different companies together like this, but Temari had been introduced to Shikamaru through her brother, Gaara, during one of the mass company sponsored parties. Although none of the two would admit it, they pretty much knew the other person's schedule, and this meeting wasn't pure coincidence.

Shikamaru started to walk towards Temari, but tripped over a rock and landed facedown into a pile of mud, still wet from yesterday's brief rain shower.

"Are you okay?" Temari ran over to Shikamaru, trying to help him up. His face was covered with mud and he himself was trying to suppress a grin.

Of course, she realized, he could have avoided that easily- he was just too lazy.

"You baka!" she slapped him playfully, but a smile worked itself onto her face.

The walked down the nature trail together, Shikamaru, who wanted to make up for scaring away her subject, showed her the other plants, flowers, and birds she could photograph.

He reached down to pick up a leaf with two beads of dew. "This one's perfect." He handed it to Temari.

A bit confused, Temari held it up and wondered what was so great about it. "What?"

"Before complete sunrise, if you can find a leaf with two beads of dew, make a wish and shake them off the leaf…"

"A wish?"

"Yes. But not just any wish..."

"Then what?"

"I'm getting there."

"Hurry up and tell me, the sun is coming up!"

"I'm trying! Okay, you can only make a wish for someone else."

"So I can't make a wish for myself?" she frowned.

"Wishes make people selfish you know." He shrugged.

Well... she closed her eyes... its worth a shot.

She made a wish, and then shook the leaf gently.

Shikamaru watched intensely, trying to figure out what sort of wish she would make.

"Was it about... your brothers?" He tried to guess.

She shook her head. "I don't think you'll guess it right!"

"Then why don't you just tell me?"

"Because wishes are supposed to be kept secret!"

"Women, how troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

Temari glared, "Want my brother to cut your budget?"

"Alright, Alright!" Shikamaru apologized. Then under his breath, "Sheesh, women."

"HEY!" Temari shouted, "What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing," Shikamaru hastily replied.

"So how are the Hyuugas doing?"

"I don't really know, but I don't think they and the Uchihas have been talking since the accident."

"Mikoto's not going to be happy," Temari muttered.

---

"Careful, mother," Sasuke cautioned as his mother tried to step out of her hospital bed. After only two weeks, where there should have been at least a month, Mikoto was determined to stand up and start walking. She said she wanted to go home within the week. The doctors argued, but Mikoto managed to laugh their worries away.

"It's alright. I'm not that fragile," his mother smiled at him.

"Sasuke's right. You should be more careful." Fugaku stood nearby, his hands free should there be a need to catch and support her. Behind him stood a doctor and a few nurses.

"Don't worry so much, the both of you. I'm fine," Mikoto laughed. As if to prove it, she stood up for a brief moment and walked a few steps before she collapsed on the bed once more, her leg muscles weak from being unused.

"Ma'am, I think that's enough exercise for today," the doctor informed Mikoto. "It's too early for you to be trying to walk. Let's reschedule this for tomorrow."

Mikoto looked like she was about to argue, but then nodded her head in assent. "Alright then." After making sure she was comfortable the doctor and nurses left to treat other patients.

"So then, how's Hinata?" Mikoto asked her son.

"Fine, I guess." Sasuke had avoided Hinata since the accident. Where he couldn't avoid her, like in the classroom, he just pretended she didn't exist. It wasn't that hard, considering she wasn't one of the fan girl types.

"What do you mean? Haven't you talked to her?" Mikoto's forehead ceased into a frown.

Sasuke stood there, uncomfortable under his mother's disappointed gaze, until his father interrupted, saving him from having to come up with some excuse. "He's been busy at school and we've been teaching him how to run the company, so it's no wonder he hasn't had the time."

"I see…" Mikoto nodded. "Make sure to talk to her tomorrow then."

"Of course," Sasuke agreed, feeling guilty for making a small lie. He wouldn't talk to her unless he was forced to. Not after what she did.

---

Tenten softly touched the porcelain piece, her finger tracing the Hyuuga crest. It seemed to gleam whether the hot rays of the sun or the soft glow of the moon touched it, its beauty lay unable to be grasped. Not even she could figure out from what material the strange porcelain piece was made from.

"Tenten-san."

She gasped, immediately dropping the piece into the drawer it came from and pushing it shut. "Neji-san?"

In his firm business suit, he came striding in, his usual confidence wavering.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked worriedly, pulling out a chair for him.

He didn't give even the slightest look at the chair, "I'm not going to be here long; I just need to discuss something with you."

_Not going to be here long_... Strangely it saddened her. "Alright... so?" She pushed the chair back.

"After the Mitoko accident, they're not contacting us anymore. I think the Uchihas aren't very happy with the accident, especially since it happened after the..." He coughed, then grudgingly continued, "engagement."

Tenten knit her brows in confusion, "What does the engagement have anything to do with Mitoko's car accident? It was just a car accident..."

Neji paused for a second, his penetrating eyes deep in thought.

"Wasn't it?" Tenten stared at him questioningly, knowing he knew something that she didn't.

"I'm just worried, that's all." He was about to spin around and leave, but Tenten caught his hand quickly. "Worried about what? And you know something, don't you?"

He gave her a silent glare, and then shook his hand free. "I'm worried about Hinata. And there are some family matters that you would never understand anyways. Just make sure you tell the other executives to put off the plans for the Hyuuga-Uchiha merge."

"I could understand if I tried!" She wanted to shout, but she stood as still as stone, his voice ringing in her head... and... was it fear? Sadness? What was it that made her tremble? She could only stand there and watch him leave, part of her mind wandering off...

_He's... worried about Hinata... _It was all like a puzzle... she just couldn't figure out the whole picture… she couldn't understand... anything anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

So we're back on schedule. Sorry this chapter's a bit shorter than the rest, but at least it has a better cliffhanger than the other chapters. Anyways, onwards we go.

* * *

"It was one of those perfect autumnal days, which occur more frequently in memory than in life." (quote from somewhere)

---

Sasuke was against doing this, of all things he could have chosen instead. But it was his mother who had made him, it was all by her will, and he didn't want to disobey her. She was in very fragile health right now.

But he hated this. Forced to hold this passionate red rose in one hand, obliged to stand in front of her doorway and ring the doorbell with his other hand, and obliged to hand it to her... as a token of... (he cringed at the thought)... love.

His fingertip just barely brushed the button, but that was enough for it to ring, its noise echoing through the mansion, until Sasuke was certain even the moles underground would hear. He prayed that she was in the shower, in fact, he nearly begged all the deities he could think of that she wasn't even home... but he would not stoop so low as to go on his knees, he would stand straight and be a man. _I just have to get it over with as soon as possible_, he thought as he stared ahead sternly, looking to the entire world sober and unmoved.

Hinata, however, was quite baffled.

She had opened the door quietly, wondering whom it could be so early in the morning, until she saw it was him...

"U-uchiha-san?" She stared up at him surprised by the sudden visit. "W-what are you doing here?" She glanced at the rose.

He didn't even blink as he stared down at her, "My mother told me to come."

Sasuke wanted to slap himself the second he finished the sentence. Hinata only muttered an "oh..." disappointingly? He couldn't tell, and he most definitely hoped not.

He handed the rose over to her, "I'm just checking in on how you're doing. My mother forgives you and your clan." He frowned and continued in a lower and quieter voice, "Only because she's too forgiving. Next time control your… your curse.

Hinata slightly stiffened at his last comment, but she took it lightly considering who it came from, and nodded. "Please thank her... and tell her I'm sorry..."

"I'll see you at the conference." Curt and brief, and then he left.

She watched silently as his car drove away, thinking to herself how lucky she was Mikoto had not died. _I **will** control you!_ She thought, the comment directed more towards the curse than anyone else.

---

Hinata was in the middle of arranging the rose to fit with the other flowers in her vase when all of a sudden she felt her legs give out, leaving her stranded on her kitchen floor. "Something's... wrong..." She squeezed her eyes shut. What was going on?

The curse, her heart, was boiling with some sort of anger and frustration, some sort of... failing feeling? She had felt this before... a long time ago...

When was it? She couldn't remember. She couldn't even think right now! It seemed like she was sinking into a pitch black hole, slowly and painfully... the curse was like a river about to break free from the dam and swallow her up.

"Stop..." She pleaded, "Stop..." _I want it to stop! I want to control it! I want to stop it! How? How... ho..._

_Ding Dong_

The doorbell rang.

Hinata's lungs heaved for air; she didn't even have the strength to shout for help. She would die! This maddening curse would kill her! _Please... whoever it is... come in!_

The doorbell rang again, and she could see the dim silhouette through the small window that was a part of the door. Hopefully the person outside would peer in and see her lying there.

She gasped again, clutching at her heart. Painful... short breaths...

She heard the door burst open, but her head was already feeling thick and her consciousness swam. She heard a muddled voice, and she could see a hazy image... _Who...? Thank... you..._

And then she drifted off to unconsciousness.

---

Tenten placed Hinata onto the sofa, tucking her in with a blanket snatched from Hinata's bedroom. She had considered sending for an ambulance, but after the initial shock she realized the girl had just fainted, perhaps from stress. Little did she know what really caused Hinata's collapse.

"You look so fragile and unprotected Hinata." She gazed sadly at pale girl who was peacefully asleep. "It's no wonder Neji-san would..." She closed her eyes.

How would she know anyways? What proof was there that he felt like that, considering his harsh treatment of Hinata? But she knew he cared for his cousin, perhaps over the boundaries of family love.

Tenten shook her head; she couldn't prove that. _Don't get such silly ideas in your head Tenten..._

She saw the phone from the corner of her eye. Maybe she should call him? She frowned, no; she didn't want him to worry about Hinata.

Tenten laid a wet towel on Hinata's forehead. Hinata was just a gentle young girl under a lot of pressure. How could anyone hate Hinata? She couldn't hate Hinata because Hinata was like a little sister to her, and she was probably Hinata's only friend according to what Neji-san had told her.

Though... what was it that Neji had warned her about? Don't get too friendly with Hinata? She didn't understand much about that. And also Hinata at first had tried not to be so friendly.

Tenten rested her head on top of her arms. This was all just so confusing; Neji-san was acting so strange, and Hinata was suffering so much.

Then there were also the strange things at work; they had meetings with the Uchihas without her and they talked about 'family' things that she didn't know about. She didn't really want to butt into anything, but she just felt so... left out.

A small tear came tumbling down her chin and she didn't even notice.

---

A girl shivered in the cellar of a very old house. The light paw steps of rats were heard as they ran around looking for scraps of food. A single beam of moonlight filtered through a small barred window to land right before the girl's feet. The girl did not know what her captors had planned for her, but she knew it was to happen very soon. They had whispered about the coming visit of their leader.

The girl looked up at the night sky. Though it had been long ago, she still had memories of her happier life, before she was taken away. She remembered laughing people, warm food, and the kind eyes of her sister. They would come to save her. She believed that, and would keep on believing that, for it was her only hope, the only thing that kept her going.

---

Maito Gai watched as a certain Hyuuga paced back and forth in front of his desk. A small sign on the door read: Konoha Private Detectives. The tension in the air was nearly tangible, and though he showed no sign of it on his face, Gai was very uneasy about how the Hyuuga would react.

"Are you certain she's alive," Neji finally asked, stopping to stand with one hand resting on the desk.

"Yes," Gai affirmed. "Lee and I talked to a former member of the Akatsuki who had supposedly been guarding her a year after she was reported dead. We also followed some leads and found this in an abandoned apartment building." He held up a long strand of black hair. "DNA testing matches, and this seems to have fallen off quite recently. At most a year ago."

"You mean she's been alive all this time?" Neji whispered. "These seven years, and we just stopped the search when the clan was, was destroyed?"

Gai looked at the young man in sympathy. His group had dealt with many similar situations and was famous for finding almost all of the kidnapped persons they were assigned, but this case was very unique considering the circumstances.

"Do you think you can get her back?" Neji asked, an angry light in his eyes. It was because of this kidnapping that the Hyuuga and Uchiha relationship had been strained so much. It was all because of Uchiha Itachi, former Uchiha heir.

Gai paused to do some quick calculations in his mind. "Given the right amount of preparation we could," he finally replied. "But it depends since we don't know why they're still keeping her alive."

"Alright then, do what you must. I'll send the team over to help you as well. Send me all expenses. I want her found as soon as possible."

Gai nodded. By 'the team' Neji meant the special tracking squad that worked only for the Hyuugas, comprised of Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, Aburame Shino, and Hatake Kakashi. "We'll do our best," Gai promised. He paused, "But what about your cousin?"

Neji glanced briefly at Gai. "Don't tell her. There's been too much happening lately, and if she found out about this it might be too much for her to handle."

Gai nodded, "I understand."

Neji looked back one more time at the dimly lit office before stepping outside and into the crowded street. "I'll find you Hanabi," he promised.


	10. Chapter 10

So this is around the end of November. Let's say that a month has passed since the last chapter. Anyways, read on, and reviews are appreciated.

* * *

"Hinata."

The person in mention blinked.

"Hinata." The name was repeated by a calm and patient voice.

Hinata finally looked up, tearing her gaze away from the beautiful collage of autumn leaves pictured outside the window. She realized that Kurenai, the math teacher, was standing before her desk.

"Y-yes?" Hinata blushed, realizing the teacher must have called her name at least five times. Luckily the other students were too busy working on their math assignments to pay much attention to Hinata.

"Here's your test," Kurenai smiled, handing back the graded paper to Hinata. "Good job."

"Th-thank you." Hinata shyly smiled at the teacher, unused to getting praise from anyone. As the teacher walked away, Hinata glanced down at the test. 93, pretty good considering she had been too busy attending meetings to study much.

Then Hinata sighed, and resigned herself to looking out the window again. This scrap of good news was insignificant compared to the whole plate of problems she was facing.

She glanced out the corner of her eye at the Uchiha. At the same time, the said Uchiha looked up upon completion of his problem. Their eyes met, and both quickly looked away guiltily.

Hinata gave another sigh and began working on her math.

---

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school week, and the occupants of the classroom happily ran out, shouting and hollering in the hallways. But Hinata stayed behind in the classroom, slowly collecting her materials, and hardly even noticed that Sasuke was the last person in the leaving crowd and was watching her from the corner of his eyes.

Kurenai looked up from her desk, "Hinata?"

She snapped out of her reverie and blushed, "Ee, sorry." She got up from her chair and slipped her math books back into her bag.

Kurenai gave a small smile, "So, Hinata, how do you feel about your engagement?"

Hinata turned slightly red and was too embarrassed to meet her teacher's eyes. "I-I guess... it was really unexpected."

Kurenai straightened out the stack of homework piled on her desk and laughed, "I guess I have to say the same thing."

"Huh?" Hinata couldn't help but to blurt out in her confusion.

"Our friend Sasuke has always been a loner. This is the fourth year that I've taught him, so it's quite obvious he doesn't like to have people fawning over him. That's why it was so surprising that you, probably the only girl who isn't already madly in love with him, would become his fiancée."

"O-oh." Hinata was surprised by her teacher's vast insight.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end," Kurenai encouraged her student.

"Thank you," Hinata breathed, grateful to her teacher.

---

Hinata fidgeted nervously her seat, waiting for the limo to start moving again. But glancing at the cars that surrounded them from all sides, it was quite doubtful they would ever get out of this traffic jam.

She had been making tea, a favorite pastime that helped her to relax, when the phone had rang. At first she thought it was Neji, him being the only one that really called her, aside from Tenten, so she picked up the phone without bothering to glance at the caller id, which unfortunately for her did not show the name of one Hyuuga Neji.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Hinata." A light female voice resonated from the earpiece.

"Um, w-who is this?" Hinata asked, slightly puzzled as to why the voice seemed so familiar. It definitely wasn't Tenten, nor was it one of the girls from school. So who was it?

"Don't you remember me?" the voice chuckled. "It's Mikoto Uchiha."

"Mikoto-san?" Hinata asked, stunned for a moment. Then the dam burst. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to, I, um-"

"What are you taking about?" Mikoto laughed. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"But I-"

"No, it's alright, I'm all better now," Mikoto insisted. "Besides, I called to ask if you'll join us for dinner tonight. Your cousin was the one who organized this, but he asked me to call you."

And feeling extremely guilty and grateful for Mikoto's forgiveness, Hinata had agreed, knowing that by 'us' she included Sasuke. Which is why she was stuck in traffic instead of enjoying her peaceful Saturday morning. But then even if Mikoto hadn't been hurt, Hinata would still have felt obliged to agree, as was in her amiable nature.

---

Sasuke leaned on the pillar, bored and tired of waiting. How long had it been, thirty minutes already? "Mother, I thought the Hyuugas were very organized and came _on time_." He said bitingly.

His mother gave a slight cough, "Sasuke, Neji-san had some important business to settle..." She didn't say anymore, nor did Sasuke inquire further, for he saw how serious and tense she was at the moment.

Did it have to do with this 'business' Neji had to attend to... or... what?

Then he saw the sleek and black limo, gliding over to the entrance of the restaurant smoothly and stopping right before the large glass doors. The door opened and at first he gave it no heed, until he caught sight of whom it was delicately stepping out onto the pavement.

It was Hinata, dressed in a loose lavender dress. Her long midnight blue hair was pulled up and held by a plain white clip. As she looked around, studying her surroundings, her pale eyes met his, and she noticed that he was staring her. They both turned away, one openly blushing and the other trying to look indifferent.

Then out came Neji, dressed in his usual business suit. His hair, as thick and long as Hinata's, was tied back by a black hair band. For once he didn't seem to even notice Sasuke, a slightly distracted look on his face.

The two women paired up, with the three men trailing silently behind into the classy restaurant.

---

"Neji-san," Mikoto began, a curious look in her eyes. Throughout the entire meal, Mikoto had been the only one that had tried to initiate a conversation, though her efforts had been just but useless as she was surrounded by silent men, and Hinata, who was sitting next to her son, wouldn't talk out of shyness, and preferred to glance out the window of the private room Neji had reserved.

"Who's going to join us?" Mikoto continued, glancing at the empty seat between Neji and Hinata.

A worried look crossed over Neji's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. He pushed back his chair and stood up, glancing briefly at the door.

He paused for a moment, resting a hand on the elaborately carved table, and glanced at Hinata before speaking. "Seven years ago-" he started to say, but cut off as the doors creaked open.

"Excuse me if I'm interrupting," a woman apologized, stepping into the room. "But I've brought her as you asked me to, Hyuuga-san." The woman was rather busty, and from her clothing it could be deduced that she was a doctor. At first glance Hinata thought the woman was in her early twenties, but then recognized her as Tsunade, one of the best doctors Japan had to offer, and famous for being much older than she looked.

"Thank you Tsunade-san," Neji welcomed the woman. He walked over to greet her, leaving the rest of the room's occupants to stare after them curiously.

"Shizune." Tsunade beckoned to someone standing behind her.

A dark haired woman appeared, holding the hand of a small girl. The girl had long dark hair, falling in uneven waves, covering most of her face. The arm reaching out to clutch at Shizune's hand was amazingly skinny, and with a jolt Hinata realized the girl wasn't small, but rather undernourished.

"Hinata."

Hinata tore her gaze away from the girl and looked up to meet Neji's eyes. They seemed unusually troubled as he signaled for her to approach. Hinata pushed back her chair too and walked over, slightly bending down so that she could be face to face with the mysterious girl.

Just then, the girl looked up, and their eyes met. Both were eyes of palest lavender, but one looked frightened and the other surprised.

"Wh-who are you?" Hinata stammered, frantically searching her memory. Were there other people besides Hyuugas that possessed the unique 'Byakugan'?

"Hinata-sama," Neji rested a hand on her shoulder and met her inquiring eyes. "This is Hanabi."


	11. Chapter 11

Someone asked about ages, so here they are. The age gap between Neji and Tenten and Hinata is a bit too big for my liking, but it has to make sense because Neji and Tenten are executives.

Hinata-17

Sasuke-18

Hanabi- 12 (five when she was kidnapped)

Neji- 25

Tenten-24

* * *

_"This is Hanabi." _

For a second, Hinata stood paralyzed, but then a flood of memories came pouring back. Her family, the curse, and the screams as they died... and yet... Hanabi was supposed to be dead, the overwhelming guilt that led to tears each night testified to that. So how was she here?

"Hanabi...?" Hinata wanted to greet her sister, but her mind came up blank as she searched for something to say. Something... anything, she wanted to hug and embrace her sister, but then again... she was afraid that she was mistaken, that Neji was mistaken... that perhaps this was someone else.

And then Hanabi, when she heard her name being called, gazed at Hinata with a baffled look.

"Who are you?"

Neji hurriedly responded for Hinata, who didn't know what to say in reply to such a question, "This is your sister Hinata, Hanabi."

It was strange, that when the two sisters were finally reunited, to each the other was a stranger, and they had no words to say between them; not of the suffering they had gone through, not of the pain they had felt when separated. But then it had been seven years ago, when they were both small children, when they had last met, so perhaps it wasn't so surprising that they felt like the other was a stranger.

Neji cleared his throat, breaking the stunned spell that had fallen, and capturing the attention of the occupants of the room. "Hanabi was quite young when she was…. kidnapped, so she doesn't remember any of us. Tsunade-san is currently taking care of her and she's slowly recovering, but she's still quite weak from her ordeal. I'm going to place her with Hinata until she's completely better. "

Then as an afterthought, he added, mainly to reassure Hinata, "Hanabi seems to have some degree of immunity to the curse, as her kidnapping seemed to actually protect her from the… the fate that the other Hyuugas suffered. Tsunade-san will visit often to make sure she's recovering properly, and I'll hire tutors to get her caught up."

Hanabi just stood there motionless, still staring down at the tiles, clearly not caring that they were discussing her.

Hinata finally found the strength to protest, "B-but Neji-san, are you sure that she's completely safe?" Her eyes glanced downward at her sister, before she jerked away her gaze guiltily at the lost look in Hanabi's eyes.

"I don't think it'll work on someone twice," Neji answered, though his reply seemed more to reassure himself than Hinata, and was directed at the Uchihas, mainly Mikoto.

Hinata was still unsure of what to say, everything was so... so much. Hanabi, whom Hinata thought was dead for years, was still alive. She was breathing, and though she had no memory of the past, it really was her.

Then Mikoto stood up. "Ah-hem, I would also like to say something." She looked quite shaken, but there was determination in her eyes as she gazed at Hinata, and then at her son, "Since these two young children are engaged, I was going to have Hinata stay in the Uchiha household so they could become more familiar."

Neji flinched, but it was subtle, and only Sasuke caught it.

"But... since a member of the Hyuuga family has been found, something none of us were prepared for, I think I'll have it wait. Meanwhile, I think we should do as we discussed earlier." She looked pointedly at Neji, as if waiting for him to continue.

"Uh, yes, but meanwhile…" Neji gestured at Hanabi. Neji heaved an inward sigh; he knew he should have explained everything to Hanabi before confronting the Uchihas, but he hadn't had time to plan everything out due to all the paperwork necessary to make sure Hanabi stayed a secret until the general public was ready to hear about it.

Mikoto seemed to understand his unspoken signal; she stood up, and signaled for her husband to do the same. "Alright then, you can explain to them what we had discussed," she told Neji, suddenly looking very tired. "Sasuke, you stay here; we'll send the limo for you later."

Neji nodded gratefully at the woman. "Sasuke will explain to you how Hanabi came back," he added, noting the politely detached curiosity evident in her eyes.

"I think we'll take our leave also," Tsunade added, already heading to the door. She and Shizune had helped Hanabi to her seat but the girl only picked at the food on her plate, as she seemed to have already eaten, despite her still skinny frame.

As the door closed behind the last person to walk out, Neji let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"Alright, I'll start from the beginning," Neji said rather reluctantly, sitting back down at the table. "Hanabi, you'd better listen too."

The pale girl glanced up at Neji, a spark of interest in her eyes.

Neji took a breath, "Hanabi was kidnapped seven years ago by the Akatsuki. Their leader was Itachi" At this, Hinata noticed that Sasuke had flinched, and remembered that Itachi was his brother. She realized that the kidnapping must have been what caused the rift between their clans, which were once on extremely good terms.

"They originally wanted to kidnap Hinata, the heiress, to use as blackmail, maybe for a ransom, but they lost their opportunity during the Hyuuga Clan massacre," Neji continued. Hanabi didn't seem fazed by what her captors might have used her for, but appeared enraptured in the tale, her eyes fixed intently on Neji. "The massacre… happened when the Cloud, fearful of the Akatsuki's rising power, also tried to kidnap Hinata-sama. A fight broke out between the two, and most of our clan were killed during the crossfire." Neji's voice turned slightly hoarse, as if he were imagining the things that had happened.

Dimly, Hinata remembered hiding in a closet, screams echoing through the mansion. Her father had shoved her inside, telling her to stay until it was over. Neji had been there too, squeezed in beside her. She remembered crying out for Hanabi, realizing she wasn't there, but had been shushed by Neji, who promised she would see her sister again. Now Hinata realized he had kept his promise, however belated it was.

"The police came, but it was too late." Neji paused to take a sip of water. "Our clan was gone, except for the two of us." He gestured at Hinata and him. "We couldn't find Hanabi's body, but we were forced to give up the search due to the clan's destruction. We assumed she was dead. It was only recently that I began to investigate the case once more, and the detectives I hired found her to be alive, so we recovered her with the help of the police."

"N-neji-san, why didn't you tell me she was alive?" Hinata weakly protested. Hinata glanced at her sister, expecting anger at them abandoning her, but she was met again by the unnerving blank look.

Neji looked away, and an uncomfortable silence ensued, broken by the unexpected sound of Hanabi's voice.

"Why… didn't they kill me?" Hanabi whispered, her voice rough from misuse. Her eyes stared at Neji expectantly, demanding an answer.

Neji flinched visibly, as did Hinata. How could her sister speak of her own death so calmly? What had they done to her?

"I believe they wanted to use you as blackmail, because although our clan was destroyed, it's remaining members still held a lot of power, both economical and political. However, Itachi was killed during the fight with the Cloud, so there was a resulting power struggle among the Akatsuki, and they didn't have the opportunity to ransom you." Neji concluded.

"I h-have a question," Hinata stuttered, diverting the attention of the room's occupants. She turned to face Sasuke, who had sat in stony silence throughout Neji's narrating. "Why d-did your brother, I-I mean Itachi," she quickly corrected as Sasuke's eyes narrowed in anger at the mention of their relation. "Why was he t-the leader of Akatsuki?"

"How would I know?" Sasuke hissed. "He enjoyed power too much I suppose. He used our family's influence to get to the top."

Neji cleared his throat, and Sasuke's turned around to glare at him instead.

"Anyways," he continued, "About earlier, Mikoto, Fugaku, and I have made a decision regarding the remainder your educations."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke snapped, his eyes narrowing at Neji.

"Starting on Wednesday, you'll both be tutored. Together."


	12. Chapter 12

Note: From now on, unless you leave a question or an interesting comment, it's very unlikely your review will be replied to. This is partly because Windflight is uncreative in her responses, and they get repetitive. Reviews are still much appreciated though.

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"_Anyways," he continued, "About earlier, Mikoto, Fugaku, and I have made a decision regarding the remainder your educations."_

"_What do you mean?" Sasuke snapped, his eyes narrowing at Neji._

"_Starting on Wednesday, you'll both be tutored. Together."_

Hinata stared, blinked, and then stuttered, "U-us? Hanabi... and me?"

Of course, she had been fine being home schooled before- besides right now she'd only gone to school briefly when she was nine. But this time, she was going to be home schooled with Hanabi, the sister she barely knew.

Neji corrected, "And Sasuke of course."

Hinata nearly jumped out of her seat with surprise. Being home-schooled with Sasuke and Hanabi?

"Uh, N-neji-san, isn't it a bit too soon?" Hinata weakly protested. "I-I mean, you… you said that Hanabi is still recovering? And I d-don't think she should start school right away."

Neji let out a deep sigh, knowing that Hinata also needed time to get used to the fact she even had a sister.

"Look, I'm sorry Hinata-sama," Neji apologized. "But I have a really busy schedule, and Tsunade-san recommended that Hanabi stay with someone who can be at her side constantly." He kept his real reason a secret, knowing that his cousin would be horrified to know he was **_actually using Hanabi to test out the power of the curse._**

"Y-you could hire someone," Hinata quietly suggested.

" Hanabi is likely to become emotionally attached to the first few people she spends time with after her… imprisonment, and your are her sister after all," Neji reasoned, trying to get Hinata to get over her anxiety about the curse. Neji added to himself, _'And perhaps the reason your curse remains is because she **still lives**.'_

Seeing Hinata still felt uneasy, Neji decided to end the conversation. "I'll send someone over to prepare a guest room for Hanabi and drop her off Tuesday night. I or someone else will check on you periodically to make sure you're doing alright, and Tsunade-san will visit you every Thursday morning."

Hinata still looked hesitant, but she gave a small nod of assent, realizing there was no point in further arguing- Neji would not let it work any other way.

"Come Hanabi," Neji beckoned. The girl paused, then stood and followed Neji towards the exit. Walking out the door, she looked back and for a second Hinata was met by a cold and unfeeling gaze.

Hinata let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding, and turned to look at Sasuke. The Uchiha now stood by the large glass windows, his back turned to her.

Hinata nervously fidgeted with her hands, waiting for him to turn around. When it became apparent he wouldn't, at least not anytime soon, Hinata muttered a soft goodbye, and waited a moment for his response. None came. Hinata turned around and headed for the exit.

Before she was able to step out the door, a "See you tomorrow" reached her ears. A soft smile made its way onto her face.

---

Sasuke stared out of the window at the street below. By the sidewalk Neji was helping Hanabi into a limo.

"What are you planning Hyuuga Neji?" he asked no one in particular.

"He's already given her the necklace," a voice responded from a corner of the room.

"Kakashi." Sasuke acknowledged the other man, turning to face him. The one called 'Kakashi' leaned on the wall next to the door, a small book clutched in his hands. A mask covered his face, and only one eye could be seen.

"He hasn't used it yet though," the man continued. "After Hanabi-sama's recovery we managed to turn in most of the Akatsuki members, but the most dangerous ones are still out there."

"Alright, keep us informed," Sasuke replied.

"Of course."

---

Hinata wandered through the school hallway, not paying much attention to her surroundings, the tense atmosphere, and especially not the people looking and pointing at her. She was deep in thought about the events that had recently transpired.

So much had happened; Hanabi had been recovered, and she was going to be tutored along with Sasuke... She wanted to cry. Was it out of joy? What was there to be sad about- her little sister was back!

But she didn't feel happy. She felt cold, uncaring, and dazed.

She walked as if in a trance, her body moving independent of her will, her fingers unconsciously twirling in the locker combination. Everything seemed to go by slowly, it was like she was treading her way through a slow moving river; if she concentrated a little, she could almost imagine the clear blue waters rippling around her, the school walls replaced by endless water.

Throngs of students were clustered behind her, eying her as they passed, whispering, pointing, gossiping, but they were lost to her behind the veil of water.

And finally someone woke her from her stupor, as effectively as building a dam to stop the river.

"Hinata!" Ino rushed over to Hinata, waving her arms wildly. In one hand she clutched a newspaper rolled into the shape of a cylinder.

Hinata snapped back to reality, noticing that Ino was panting and sweating from running halfway across the school. She had a grin on but her voice was questioning yet serious.

"Is it true?" She almost whispered in a conspiratorial tone.

"What is it?" Hinata asked, desperately hoping Ino didn't know about the home schooling. It wasn't that she didn't trust Ino, it was just that if Ino knew, it was just a matter of time before the whole school found out.

"Is it true? Is it true that a Hyuuga family member has been found?" It sounded as though Ino was afraid to say it; as though they were words she wasn't supposed to ask.

Hinata knew how big this was. Everyone knew that the entire Hyuuga clan had died, but because it had involved the Akatsuki, there was an immediate cover up, and it was only revealed to the general public that it was from some sort of accident. Because of the prominent status a Hyuuga enjoyed, not to mention the large fortune, the news that another Hyuuga was alive and had been **recovered** undoubtedly roused the curiosity of quite a few individuals.

But they were all afraid to ask her directly; who knew how Hinata felt, who knew how Hanabi was found... who knew...

Not even Hinata knew.

Hinata was at a loss for words for a moment, but then she quickly recovered. Of course people would've found out, and the news must have spread like wildfire. She made a mental note to read the newspaper more often. Hinata gave a nervous smile, "Y-yes, it's true. My younger sister has been found."

There was a short shush in the hall as the people within listening range looked at her slightly shocked; a Hyuuga had actually confirmed this incredible piece of news, so it must be true! Then people started rushing over to her, asking so many questions they canceled out each other's voices. Hinata shrunk back against her locker, feeling as if the crowd was swallowing her up in their excitement and curiosity.

Hinata felt a hand grab her wrist and yank her out of the crowd. The person kept a firm grip on Hinata's wrist and pulled her into an empty classroom, slamming the door closed behind them.

"We're going to be safe in here." The person sounded relieved.

Hinata looked around and realized they were in the teacher facility room. As her savior turned around Hinata was relieved to see it was Kurenai, of all people.

"Th-thank you for helping me," Hinata shyly smiled.

"It's all right. In an elite private school like this it's not everyday a student of mine wants the teacher to help them," Kurenai nervously laughed. "Why were they mobbing you anyways? It was even worse than when Sasuke-kun's fan girls go after him."

Hinata nervously fidgeted, "Um, it's because of, well, you know how they f-found my sister."

Kurenai shook her head sympathetically. "Poor girl. I can't imagine what they'll do when they find out you're going to be home schooled."

Hinata gave a start. "Kurenai-sensei, y-you know about that?"

"Didn't your cousin already tell you?" Kurenai quizzically asked.

Hinata shook her head no. "He never tells me anything."

"Oh, well I'm going to be your math tutor."

Hinata's eyes widened in shock, and her mouth opened to gasp, "T-tutor?"

"You're g-going to be my t-tutor? Our teacher?" Hinata couldn't figure out why she was so surprised, "But what about teaching here? In this school? You won't have enough time to teach here and teach us."

Kurenai gave a warm smile, "I'm going to quit teaching here to tutor the three of you. To tell you the truth, I've always wanted an opportunity like this."

"Sasuke knows about this already," Kurenai grinned sheepishly, "I didn't even have to tell him; he's a bright boy."

Then the bell rang, signaling the beginning of homeroom.

"Oh, um, thank you again Kurenai-sensei." Hinata bowed, thanking her once more before walking out the door.

Kurenai watched and smiled. After a while, she sighed, "I know this may be dangerous... but..." She closed her eyes, "Hinata is such a nice girl."

* * *

**Walking Green Cucumber:** About Kurenai's ending comment, _"I know this may be dangerous,"_ Neji warned Kurenai about what might happen, but he didn't tell her anything very specific. 


	13. Chapter 13

Windflight apologizes for the slight delay in updating but see, she ran out of Sasuhina fics to read, so then she turned to Gaahina which didn't fit as well, then tried NejiTenten which were really good, especially Goldberry's and was so busy reading those that she didn't write her part of the story. Thank Walking Green Cucumber that this chapter got posted this week.

Anyways, enjoy and don't forget to review!

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Sakura slammed her hands hard on the desk, effectively silencing the gossiping students scattered around the room. It was always about the Hyuuga; she had taken away Sasuke-kun, and now everyone was blabbing on about her little sister.

She had to stop this. She would humiliate the Hyuuga so badly she wouldn't ever be able to show her face around here, and it would be in front of Sasuke-kun too. Now how to go about this…

Of course. As much as she hated the idea, it seemed like she would require the help of the other Sasuke admirers. Her lips pressed together in grim smile. It was all for Sasuke-kun.

---

Sasuke couldn't pay much attention to his lessons; he kept on noticing something that moved and twitched before him. Sakura. She kept on trying to wave at him and blow him kisses, and she made it so obvious even the teacher had to stop her. And she kept sending those silly annoying giggles and grins at him.

The first time she had done that, he stared at her. Big. Mistake.

From then on, she would do nothing but laugh loudly and try to catch his eye again. But he never did stare at her again, _pathetic, _was all he would mutter.

And after Hinata came he noticed how Sakura would always glance at her, no, not glance- _glower. _She glowered at Hinata with all the hatred in the world, and after lunch it seemed almost all the other girls were following her example. Suspicion rose that they were joining against Hinata, and he decided Hinata would be better off once they were home schooled. Not that he cared.

Hinata didn't particularly notice the angry glares and ugly retorts directed at her. Instead she was working harder than ever, scrutinizing her textbooks carefully as if she could remember ever word, actually volunteering answers during class, and she stayed behind a few minutes extra after every period to talk to the teachers; she was practically saying goodbye.

He felt obligated to follow her example, but he decided against it, pushing himself out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

---

"That Hyuuga girl, we need to get rid of her," spat one of the girls. Half a dozen girls were gathered in the school's fancy girls' bathroom, a few of them taking advantage of their surroundings to apply a thicker layer of lipstick or comb their already perfect hair.

Another girl nodded in agreement, "She stealing our cuuute Sasuke-kun!" At this, all the girls in the room squealed, except for Sakura, who tapped the sink's marble surface impatiently.

"Ah-hem, we're trying to come up with a plan to prevent that." Sakura turned to the reclining blonde next to her. "What do you think Ino?"

"I'm not so sure we should be doing this," frowned the usually confident blonde. Her sky blue eyes looked troubled for once. "I don't really think it's Hinata-san's fault. It was an arranged enga-"

"Oh, be quiet Ino," Sakura snapped. It took all her willpower to restrain herself from inflicting bodily harm upon the blonde. "Are you backing out now? Have you gotten attached to that stuttering wreck? Have you?"

Ino averted her eyes. "No, but if we get caught…"

"Well we won't," Sakura snarled. "Now, what shall we do?" she huffily asked the rest of the group.

"She's a Hyuuga, so directly harming her is out of the question," a girl piped up.

"Then we have no choice. We'll have to crack her spirit." Sakura smiled cruelly, "It should be easy enough considering she has absolutely no confidence. Besides, we have all year to plan…"

But that's where Sakura Haruno, straight A student, was for once wrong.

---

Hanabi stared at the card, her expression inscrutable.

"House."

Hanabi repeated the word in a slightly louder voice, "House."

The lady holding the cards took it, and silently switched the card again.

Hanabi scrunched her nose and squinted her eyes... "Tree."

She had spent many hours doing this exercise, and she was getting tired of it. She was smart, but not nearly as smart as Neji, and her mind was still recovering from her ordeal.

But what she didn't understand, and no one could help her understand, was her past. They had told her vaguely about it; Hinata. Hyuuga family. Dead. Akatsuki. Kidnapping... Death... Kill... Die...

She hardly understood it all. What was death? What was family? What was... love? Hatred? Hanabi didn't care about the trees, flowers or what color the sky was. She wanted to know more about these things... feelings, her family, and her past.

But the lady in front of her was still switching cards slowly and nodding her head each time Hanabi got it correct, which was every time.

"Book."

Her eyes dimmed at the next card.

"Car…"

---

Hinata peered out the car window, at the few lightly swirling snowflakes, deceptively gentle as they brought with them the bitter winter cold. Today would be their last day of school. Tomorrow she would start home schooling, with Hanabi and Sasuke.

She breathed in deeply as the limo stopped. Again... bear through the day doing as much as she could, ignore stares and glances and gasps and all sorts of things from the other students, and hand out her goodbye presents to the teachers.

The door opened, and dim sunlight streamed into the limo. Hinata took a deep breath, and forcing a nervous smile onto her face, stepped out onto the pavement.

---

There was a tap on her shoulder. Ino ignored it, preferring to shuffle through her bag in search of the lost English assignment. It had to be there, it had to!

The person grew impatient, and the next tap was a lot harder, causing Ino to grimace slightly. "WHAT!" Ino exploded, turning around to face her assailant.

The girl flinched back, hands hurrying to cover her eardrums, though it was not punishment enough in Ino's opinion.

"Haruno wants to see you," the girl muttered with a glare, jerking her head towards a corner of the hallway before stomping away angrily.

Ino decided to give up the futile search, and headed over to where the girl had indicated.

Sakura was slumped on a wall, a miserable look on her face. For once, she was quiet, not chatting endlessly about Sasuke-kun. Despite herself, Ino felt concerned about her friend/rival's strange behavior.

"Hey, forehead girl," Ino called out in a teasing voice. "What's wrong? Sasuke-kun dumped you?"

When there was no biting response, Ino grew even more worried.

Finally, Sakura spoke, her voice quiet but full of anger. "He's going to leave. The Hyuuga stole him from us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Azuma-sensei told me that, that Ino, Sasuke-kun's going to be home schooled!" Sakura half screeched half sobbed.

Ino was struck dumb. "Sasuke-kun... home schooled?" she registered herself muttering.

Sakura wanted to slap Ino silly, "You dummy! It means Sasuke-kun won't be here anymore! And you know what's even WORSE? He's going to be home schooled with, with..."

"Hinata." Ino couldn't have guessed anyone else. She tried to feel angry with the white-eyed girl, but all she felt was a sweeping sense of relief.

Ino waited a moment before tentatively asking, "It's too late to do anything now, right?"

"WHAT!" Sakura almost shrieked, drawing the attention of nearby students. She put on an embarrassed smile, and dragged Ino after her to the far corner of the hall.

"Ino, I am not going to stand by and let that Hyuuga take away Sasuke-kun, not without a fight," Sakura muttered in a deathly quiet voice.

Ino winced at the death grip being applied on her arm. "There's not enough time…" she tried to reason.

"Today is more then enough," Sakura hissed.


	14. Chapter 14

The latest chapter is here! Applaud! Anyways, Walking Green Cucumber wrote most of it (again), so applaud the Cucumber!

Yeah... hehe... Don't forget to review!

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Sakura confidently strode down the hallway, smirking and flinging her bright pink tresses about to assure that she was the center of everyone's attention. She turned the corner and entered her next class, English, to see Hinata speaking to the teacher and handing over a carefully wrapped little bag with a delightful present inside.

"Teacher's pet." Sakura scoffed. She gestured at once of the girls stationed near the front of the room; the girl nodded, and went to lure the teacher away. Pretending she hadn't seen Hinata she glided near and deliberately bumped into her so that Hinata was forced to drop the books she clutched in order to steady herself. Sakura hid her disgusted look and gave a feigned look of worry, "Oh, why I'm so sorry Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled back, a small yet sincere smile, naively unaware of the other girl's intentions. "Good morning Haruno-san..." she greeted as she bent down to collect her books.

"Please, call me Sakura-chan." Then Sakura added, "For the rest of the year…"

Hinata wanted to bite her lip because she didn't know what to say, Haruno-san, no, Sakura-chan, was being _nice_ to her! And here she was about to leave the school... to go be home-schooled. She hated hurting other people's feelings... but she decided to tell Sakura the truth, since she knew it was impolite not to answer.

"I... I'm not g-going to be here for the rest of the year."

Sakura gasped as though she hadn't already known, "Really? What happened?"

Ino, who was watching from a little distance away, rolled her eyes at this. Who knew Sakura could be such a good actor... geez… But it was obvious Sakura didn't want a repeat of last time, Ino thought, as she realized Sakura had chosen the one class she had with Hinata that didn't include Sasuke. But it also meant, Ino gasped, thatthere would be noone would stop this…

"I'm... I'm going to be h-home-schooled." Hinata answered shyly, feeling terrible...

Sakura looked shocked and seemed to be on the verge of crying, "**Why, you don't like this school? Do you hate us all?" **she exclaimed tearfully, her voice affected to attract the attentions of others. Inner Sakura was laughing maniacally. This would make Hinata look sooo bad...

Hinata was stunned. She stuttered, "N-no... no, it's n-not that..."

Another girl from Sakura's posse joined in, following Sakura's plan, "You think you're all smart and that, don't you!"

"Yeah, not wanting to stay in our school... wanting to be _home-_schooled because you're too good for us, huh?"

People were staring now. True, most of them had no idea what was going on, but they would soon figure it out, or at least they'd believe the biased tale Sakura was weaving.

Hinata was scared, thoughts frantically flying around in her head. _No, no! That's not true! I'm being home-schooled because I need to spend time with Hanabi! _But her lips wouldn't let out a single sound.

"So it is true!" Sakura was now pretending to look like she was boiling with anger. It really wasn't that hard. "You DO think you're so smart! You DO think you're too good for this school!"

"N-no... I..." Hinata backed up against the wall. Instinctively she hugged her books closer to her chest and a finger rose to rest on her bottom lip.

"You just can't say anything to defend yourself, because you know it's all TRUE!" Sakura spat out madly. She was starting to forget herself in her genuine fury, but it didn't matter. Her plan was working perfectly.

By now Hinata was trembling, her usual gentle eyes dilated in fear, and any neutral bystander might have felt great sympathy for the shy girl, being bullied by three girls- three LOUD girls who positively hated her- and not being able to say anything to defend herself.

"I HATE YOU!" Sakura screeched, "I HATE YOU! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO WONDERFUL! SO PERFECT! YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE SASUKE-KUN! I HATE YOU! THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU DESERVE HIM! HE IS SO MUCH SMARTER, SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU! AND YOU..."

Sakura was trembling all over… she completely forgot about her surroundings, she didn't care if the everyone, even the other Sasuke admirers, were staring at her in shock, she didn't care if she was just shaming herself now. She hated Hinata with a vengeance. She hated the stupid tears that rolled down the girl's cheek, she hated the wide innocent eyes that were filled with fear, not hatred, and most of all she hated the girl's genuine kindness. What was so good about her that allowed Sasuke-kun be engaged to her?

"I JUST HATE Y-" A hand reached out and muffled Sakura's cries.

Ino had stopped her.

She was staring firmly at Sakura with a determined look in her eyes. "Sakura... you're disgracing yourself! Either do this somewhere private... or just leave her alone!"

Sakura freed herself from Ino's grip and glared at both of her adversaries.

"I knew it," Sakura slowly hissed. "You're on her side now. What about Sasuke-kun? ARE YOU GOING TO JUST LET HER TAKE HIM AWAY?"

Ino looked away. "Sa-Sakura, it isn't worth it. Doing all this, just for a silly crush?"

"SILLY CRUSH?" Sakura looked like she would explode from rage. "YOU CALL THIS A SILLY CRUSH?"

"What's going on?" a voice sounded from the doorway.

"Kurenai-sensei," Ino smiled in relief. It would all be okay now. Right?

"What-" Sakura startled, all her rage disappearing along with her confidence at seeing a teacher appear. But wasn't Kurenai's room at the other end of the hall?

Then she noticed him. Naruto. Standing behind Kurenai with a guilty look on his face.

"Naruto? But you… I thought-" Sakura stammered, Naruto's betrayal hurting her far more than she ever expected.

"He came to get me," Kurenai answered for him. "Hinata-chan, are you alright?" Seeing Hinata's timid nod, she turned to Sakura.

"We're going to the principal's office. What you did was unacceptable. We'll definitely have to talk to your parents about this."

Sakura had stood there stunned all throughout Kurenai's speech, but as the teacher reached out to touch her arm, Sakura snapped.

"YOU'RE ALL AGAINST ME, AREN'T YOU?" Sakura accused, slapping away Kurenai's hand. The teacher retracted her arm, stunned at her student's behavior.

"I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS!" Sakura shrieked, and with one last glare at Naruto, she fled the building, leaving behind a shocked classroom.

---

Sakura stomped angrily through the snow like a three year old with a tantrum, past caring whether or not her shoes got dirty. Shivering slightly in the chill air, she quickly headed towards a nearby café.

Reaching for the door handle, a snowflake landed on her outstretched palm, the same pure white as THAT girl's eyes, and Sakura squashed it. Viciously. Or at least she tried.

"I hate that Hyuuga," Sakura muttered.

"Really?" a sarcastic voice appeared behind her.

"Who are you?" Sakura whirled around, glaring at the blonde haired man that DARED to mock her.

The man was unfazed, and carefully adjusting the glasses mounted on his nose, turned his head to smile at her, "My name is Kabuto, and I can help you Miss Sakura."

---


	15. Chapter 15

Um, first Windflight would like to thank the reviewer who pointed out that Kabuto's hair wasn't blonde (checks wikipedia to make sure). I really thought it was! 

Second, a note from Walking Green Cucumber:

REVIEW THIS CHAPTER OR ELSE THE WALKING GREEN CUCUMBER SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN AND EAAAATTT YOOOUUUU!>:D

Cucumbers aren't fruits.

Oh, and lastly, Walking Green Cucumber reviews every chapter with her comments, and wants people to read them before she turns into a Walking Red Pickle.

* * *

"_My name is Kabuto, and I can help you Miss Sakura."_

Sakura stared at him, "Help me...?" Then she snapped brusquely, "No one can help me, you don't know how I feel. You'll just betray me in the end, like the rest of them." As she said this she thought bitterly of Naruto. _'I'll always be here for you'_ the traitor had said.

But she didn't budge; she was desperate, and this strange man... could he help her? Who was he really? She looked suspiciously up at the man in front of her "Why would you... help me?"

The gray haired man grinned mischievously, "My master has a rather large grudge against the Hyuugas, and wishes to, shall we say, exterminate them. But we need your resources to do so."

Sakura felt a large burst of hope at his statement, but she carefully controlled her facial expressions, trying not to look as though he had already won her interest, "Really, you mean you need my family's assets?" Her emerald eyes narrowed to study the man carefully.

"No, no," the man laughed. "We need your connections to the Hyuuga. She is well protected by her cousin, but as you are her classmate, there is likely to be less suspicion if you were to stop by for a visit."

Yakushi Kabuto could convince a mouse to step into a mousetrap, smiling all the while, so you could say he was known for his stealth, his smarts, and his slyness, the three main reasons for which his master Orochimaru had recruited him.

The grin was still plastered to his face, but his eyes were filled with malicious glee; the girl was right about one thing- **in the end he was going to betray her**. "Accept my offer, and the Uchiha is as good as yours." _Or rather,_ _the Uchiha would be Orochimaru-sama's._

"Fine. Tell me what I have to do." A determined light was in Sakura's eyes. She would get what she wanted, and no one could stop her.

_Tsk, tsk, humans are so easily blinded by their hate,_ Kabuto thought, his grin growing even wider. _But all the better to manipulate._

---

When Haruno Sakura had started screaming at her, Hinata had been terrified. Terrified because she didn't know what she did wrong, terrified because she could say nothing in her own defense, **and terrified because she had no friends to help her**.

But Ino had helped her, as well as Kurenai-sensei. Despite the circumstances, Hinata was extremely happy that they bothered to help a person like her. Hinata knew it was selfish of her to believe that they helped her just because she was Hinata; they probably would have done the same for any other student, but it gave her the feeling, however illusionary, that she had **friends**.

Unnoticed to Hinata, the golden ring nestled around her finger seemed to darken for a moment, an alarming warning should it have been heeded.

---

"Here," Tenten chirped, thrusting a large brown envelope at Neji. It was lunchtime, and except for these two executives, the top floor of the Hyuuga Corp. building had been abandoned in favor of the cafeteria.

"What is it?" Neji asked, staring warily at the envelope. "Another one of Shikamaru's reports?" Shikamaru's reports were dreaded by whoever the recipient, as they were long and full of terms and phrases only the genius himself could understand.

"Nope!" Tenten laughed at the look on her boss's face. "Someone asked me to give it to you. I think his name was Kakashi."

Immediately Neji sat up straighter, and his eyes focused on the envelope. "Give it to me," he snapped.

"Um, okay?" Tenten frowned, handing over the report. Seeing her boss's intense fascination with the package, she quickly excused herself. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything." And impatient nod answered her.

Once he was sure Tenten left, Neji tore open the envelope and reached for its contents. For Kakashi to contact him at work, it must be bad news.

Inside there was just a crumbled, folded up note that looked as if it had been ripped out from a notebook. Neji recognized Gai's messy "youthful" handwriting scrawled all over the page.

**_As you've requested, we've been keeping tabs on Hinata-sama's classmates. At exactly 10:34 this morning Yamanaka Inoichi, founder of the Yamanaka Flower chain experienced a heart attack. Previous medical records indicate no heart problems. He is expected to make a full recovery. It appears that Inoichi's daughter, Yamanaka Ino, has met with, and helped Hinata-sama on several occasions. _**

**_-Gai_**

Neji shredded the note after reading it over several times, the first time in disbelief. **It** did not affect this Yamanaka Ino directly, but through her family, and Neji doubted that Ino was very close to Hinata to begin with. First it was Mikoto, and now this classmate. Who would be next?

---

Uchiha Sasuke despised loud noises, and as talkative people usually produced loud noises, he tended to avoid such people. One such person happened to be Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke preferred to eat lunch alone, by himself, in **solitude**, but due to his large pack of fangirls, it was almost impossible to achieve. As the self-proclaimed leader of the 'Uchiha fangirls', Sakura somehow managed to always sit herself at his table. And where Sakura went, that dope was sure to follow.

A major difference today was that all the fangirls had disappeared, even Haruno, and silence reined the table. The dope was there despite the absence of 'Sakura-chan,' but he was oddly silent, slowly slurping up his ramen with a dejected look on his face.

Oh well. Sasuke wasn't going to complain about the dope's silence. It was better this way.

At last, it was Naruto that broke the silence, his voice empty of the enthusiasm that defined him. "Sasuke-teme, what did you do to Sakura-chan?"

"…nothing."

"Oh."

The silence continued for a few more moments before Naruto spoke up again. "Sakura-chan must be furious with me." A pause. "I got her in trouble."

Sasuke was silent; what was he supposed to say if he didn't even care?

But Naruto, talking mostly to himself, kept regretfully ranting on, "What if she hates me now? I don't know... I... I guess I was kind of mad at her..." He sighed, "She's always obsessed about you, and today she tried to hurt Hinata-san again..."

Sasuke looked up at him for a second in surprise, and then looked back down at his food again, "Che."

Naruto glared at him with a somewhat semi-shocked face, "What do you mean by, 'Che'? Don't you care about what happens to your future wife?"

Sasuke shrugged, "The engagement wasn't my idea."

"But... but still!"

"We didn't _want_ to be engaged. We were total strangers who had never talked to each other before this year, and we don't even _like_ each other. Why should I care?"

"You should learn to care! She's going to be there for the rest of your life!"

Sasuke scoffed, "What are you, an advice-giver? What should I care about her for? She's just as boring as a twig."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort something back at him, but then something behind Sasuke caught his attention. Naruto's eyes widened and he seemed to grow visibly paler. "uhh... Sasuke…"

Sasuke turned around, though he could already guess who it was by Naruto's stunned reaction; Hinata.

"Hinata-san... oh uh, hi." Naruto scratched his back, trying to smile at her and failing miserably.

Hinata only looked at Naruto when answering, "Good af-fternoon... I just w-wanted to say... thank you Naruto-san... and I-I'll see you tomorrow... Sasuke-san." She darted off, clutching her bento box like a lifeline.

"Sasuke-teme…" Naruto stared at him.

"Che," Sasuke replied again, though there wasn't as much conviction in his voice as before.

---

Elsewhere, seated in a fancy restaurant at the edge of town, Hyuuga Hanabi impatiently twisted the tablecloth, waiting for her math tutor to arrive. Beside her sat the black haired chauffeur, sporting small sunglasses and a long trench coat; he had insisted on accompanying her into the restaurant.

Hanabi wasn't stupid. This so-called chauffeur was just another bodyguard assigned by her cousin. So far, there had always been at least one of them following her; she knew they watched her even when she couldn't sense them. And her cousin probably did the same for Hinata.

Finally, the door to their room slid open, and a woman in her early thirties came in. Looking at her, Hanabi felt a sense of déjà vu.

The lady walked gracefully to the table and sat down next to Hanabi. She smiled gently, and looking into her beautiful crimson eyes Hanabi felt almost… safe.

"You must be Hanabi; I'm Kurenai, your math tutor." She held out a hand cordially.

Hanabi knew what this gesture meant; she had studied it in those books... it was a handshake. She took the hand and the lady shook it gently. Hanabi felt warmth flood her pale, skinny hand, and thought that this teacher seemed nicer than the previous ones. Yet… what was that phrase again? Never judge a book by its cover? Yes, Hanabi didn't know the woman's intentions yet. She could be another one of those psychiatrists hired by her cousin.

"I think I should tell you a little bit about myself, so we can get to know each other better," Kurenai supplemented, noticing that Hanabi was looking a bit tense.

Hanabi nodded.

Kurenai talked most of the time, noticing that Hanabi wasn't particularly talkative; sometimes she paused to ask Hanabi little questions like what was her favorite color, or did she like math. Soon, Hanabi felt herself relaxing and opening up with this new teacher.

Hanabi heard and saw out of the corner of her eye that her 'chauffeur' had shifted slightly in his seat, but she didn't care; her attention was saved for Kurenai.

It soon became apparent why the chauffeur had turned-Hinata had entered the room. Her eyes were a little red and her smile appeared to Hanabi as forced and small, but she seemed to brighten up when she saw the group at the table.

"Hinata." Kurenai beamed, standing up.

Hinata bowed, "Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai waved her hand towards the seat nearest to Hanabi's, "Come and join us. We were just having a little talk."

Hinata slid in next to Hanabi, now smiling genuinely, "I'm glad I can spend time with you..."

Hanabi just frowned slightly, annoyed by her sister's interruption.


	16. Chapter 16

Hehe... Sorry for the late update, but both authoresses are pretty busy right now. Don't be surprised if the next chapter takes longer too.

* * *

It was about eight in the morning, and Hinata and Hanabi were just finishing breakfast when the doorbell first rang. At first Hinata was startled; the mansion was mainly isolated from the rest of the city, and she couldn't think of any reason someone would visit. But then she deduced that one of their tutors must have arrived early, and rushed to open the door.

She was partially correct; Kurenai was standing on her doorstep, but beside her stood Sasuke. Quickly averting her eyes from the Uchiha, Hinata addressed Kurenai.

"Hello Kurenai-sensei." A bow. Then a polite nod to the Uchiha was required. "W-welcome Sasuke-san."

"There's no need to be so formal, Hinata," Kurenai smiled. Beside her it was obvious that the Uchiha had no intention of apologizing for the day before.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Hanabi appeared behind Hinata, her eyes brightening slightly at the sight of her teacher. Then a glare was directed at Sasuke. "Uchiha."

"Ha-Hanabi!" Hinata intervened. "Don't be so rude." All Hinata got back was a blank stare, before she was completely ignored by her younger sister.

Kurenai broke the uncomfortable atmosphere by smiling warmly, "Well then, shall we get the lesson started?"

Kurenai walked into the house with long comfortable strides, then placed her heavy book-bag onto the table that had been set up the night before and began taking out books, "I think we'll need to have a little bit of separation, since Hanabi is younger, and..." She looked up and glanced at Hinata and Sasuke, noticing the air of wariness between them.

She beckoned to Hanabi, "I'll have you take a small test to see what level you're at." Hanabi eagerly nodded, and tried not to look too excited. "I'll be giving the two of you workbooks so get started individually. Call me over if you have any questions." She handed them a workbook and then returned to Hanabi, "You know basic math, don't you?"

Hanabi nodded.

"Good."

---

This math is easy, thought Sasuke, a small smirk forming on his lips. His eyes darted to the figure across the table; Hinata was sitting there, deeply absorbed in her calculus. He looked back down, forcing away the feelings of guilt. _'What's wrong with telling the truth?'_

---

"Hyuuga-sama," the voice respectfully murmured.

Neji rubbed his temple, wondering what the man wanted now. "What is it this time, Kakashi?"

"Can't I drop by and pay my respects to my employer?"

"If you had really wanted to show respect, you would have waited until the end of the day, after my job here is over, and you wouldn't sneak in though the window," the Hyuuga retorted.

"Why would you suspect me of wanting to scale thirty stories when I have an elevator at my disposal?" Kakashi's smile betrayed his innocent tone of voice.

"Because that's the kind of thing you do." A pause. "And I doubt they would let you in through the front door, dressed the way you are."

"My clothing is perfectly normal, Hyuuga-sama," Kakashi grinned, pointing to his civilian's clothes.

"But your mask makes you look like a thief," argued Neji. A lengthy pause progressed, both men being the type to enjoy quiet.

"So what do you want?" Neji tiredly sighed, swiveling around in his chair to face the other man.

Kakashi shrugged. "I'm just curious as to why you hired that woman as a tutor."

"I hired other tutors too," Neji rebuked, a little too defensively for his liking.

"Yeah, but they're all Uchihas. That woman isn't protected." Kakashi was treading about the subject as cautiously as his curiosity would allow.

"It's mainly for Hanabi-sama's sake. That woman looks a lot like **her**."

"You mean you think she might know something?" Kakashi thoughtfully pointed out.

"Yes." Neji allowed himself a small frown before snapping his attention back to his unwelcome guest. "Hinata-sama is in enough trouble as it is, and should we lose the help of the Uchihas, namely because something should happen to the Uchiha heir, we'd have to give up our efforts. All that time and effort we put into research would be useless. That and if the Hyuuga heiress were gone, the politicians would immediately turn their backs on us." Neji added with a rueful smile, "Perhaps we deserve it."

"Would you still be willing to take her life then, to protect those of others?"

Neji closed his eyes, thinking in length over the dilemma that was presented to him. "I honestly don't know. I hope it will never come to that."

---

"Kurenai-sensei," a pair of white eyes stared imploringly up at her.

"Yes, Hanabi?" Kurenai asked, surprised at her pupil's assertiveness. She paused in the act of collecting her papers.

A small hand reached out to tug on her shirt. "Are you going to leave now?"

"Well, yes. Your other tutors are here, and I wouldn't want to get in their way." But Kurenai hesitated, taking in the sight of Hanabi's disappointed frown. "How about I'll come around later, and take you out for ice-cream? You did a great job today."

"Okay." The blank eyes seemed to light up for a moment, before seemingly becoming emotionless again.

"Would you two care to join us?" Kurenai addressed her two older students, who seemed determined to avoid each other's gaze; Hinata was staring down at her twiddling fingers, and Sasuke glaring out the window.

"…no." A single syllable, the typical Sasuke answer.

"Um, I-I have another meeting with Neji-san today," Hinata apologized. "Maybe some other time?"

"That's alright then." Kurenai ran some quick calculations through her head. "How about I pick you up at 4:00?" She smiled gently at Hanabi.

"All right." Kurenai got a small smile in return.

---

Finally, their 'classes' were over and done with. Hinata noticed that Hanabi didn't even speak to, or make any attempt to get to know any of their other teachers better, unlike with Kurenai.

But then again, the other teachers weren't exactly the 'nice' stereotypical type. They were more strict and quiet, not unlike Hanabi herself. Hinata did get the impression that the teachers knew and respected Sasuke, some of them even referring to him as sama.

Hinata gave a small sigh in the back of her mind, blaming herself for overanalyzing everything. Her face softened as brushed Hanabi's hair back gently, pulling it up into a high ponytail in preparation for her sister's outing. She beamed at Hanabi's reflection, "Don't you look nice Hanabi?"

Hanabi stared into the mirror and saw her own reflection... a sudden, sharp jolt caused her to scowl and she aimed her fist right into the mirror where her face was, shattering the glass and causing Hinata to jump back in surprise.

Then she was back to normal, and slowly realized what she had done...

Hinata looked shocked, her face pale, "I-I'm... I'm s-sorry Hanabi..."

Hanabi backed up from the shattered remains of the mirror, trembling all over. She felt a sob force itself up her throat; this was called 'crying', was it not? She curled herself into a ball and continued to cry, only the tears refused to come. Dimly, Hanabi felt Hinata hesitantly reach out to 'hug' her. When she had looked at herself… she had remembered so many bad things… a gunshot, a dead woman's hand clutching her own... it was all a painful cluster of memories.

---

When Kurenai finally came to pick up Hanabi at the designated time, she found small cuts scattered all over the girl's body, and her right hand was tightly wrapped in bandages. Concerned, the well-meaning older woman had asked for the cause of her injuries, only to be warded off with a tight-lipped muttering of some sort of accident.

Though not completely sated by Hanabi's answer, Kurenai decided not to pursue the issue further upon reflectance of her charge's obvious reluctance to answer.

Holding open the door for the youngest Hyuuga- lest she hurt her injured hand- Kurenai noticed a small glass shard glinting in the afternoon sunlight, caught in the necklace Hanabi so faithfully wore about her neck. About to mention it, Kurenai reconsidered, as the other was still in a gloomy mood. She'd bring it up later, after the ice cream…

---

Above, perched safely on an overhanging branch, a black haired man watched as Kurenai helped Hanabi into the car, and grinned. His master would be very pleased.


	17. Chapter 17

All done! By the way, the next chapter might take longer to update, because windflight has to go somewhere. Read and Review!

---

In the Ice Cream Parlor Shop, Hanabi finally witnessed the heaven of this so called... 'ice cream.'

There were red-cushioned chairs and glossy hardwood tables scattered about, and the walls were painted with pink and baby blue. She had never seen any place as bright and happy-looking as this, and it half-scared her, and half-amused her. Only a handful of people were about, excluding the workers; Hanabi wondered about it until Kurenai explained to her that this ice cream usually wasn't consumed in winter.

But what was best was the... ice cream counter.

Kurenai, laughing at Hanabi's wide, interested eyes, smiled amusedly, "What sort of ice cream would you like?"

Hanabi pressed her nose against the cold glass, gaping at the endless assorted buckets of ice cream, more vivid and intriguing up close than on a lifeless photo. _All of them, _she thought to herself. But, after quite some time, she finally settled on the green, brown, and pink colors, all in a cone.

Kurenai picked a plain vanilla, also in a cone. They sat together by an empty table near the window, to 'soak up as much sunlight as possible in this dreary weather,' Kurenai had told her.

At first, unusually eager to try this new food, Hanabi bit into the top of her ice cream cone, the green one. Her eyes widened at the burst of mint flavor, but she hastily retreated, teeth chattering.

Across from her, Kurenai burst into giggles, a hand moving to try and stifle the sound, but to no avail. Hanabi stared at her teacher, confused.

"It's cold," Kurenai explained. "So you eat it slowly, like this." Then she demonstrated, her tongue lapping at the vanilla.

Processing this new information, Hanabi tentatively reached out a tongue, trying out this new technique.

Hanabi tried to mimic her teacher, licking her ice cream slowly... the tingling taste of sweetness and iciness lingered on her tongue with each lick, and she could only describe this 'ice cream' with one word: Delicious.

Kurenai couldn't help but laugh when Hanabi told her that ice cream was the most delicious thing in the world.

---

A darkly dressed man breezed into the ice cream parlor unnoticed by most of its occupants. Not even the tinkling bells on the door bore witness to when he slid in.

He had sat hidden in the small coffee shop opposite the ice cream parlor, waiting until the Hyuuga's bodyguard left, having received an 'urgent message' on his cell phone, courtesy of Sakon. He had taken advantage of that moment to slip in unseen.

He took a seat not too near them that he would be noticed, but not so far so that he couldn't see them. He studied them subtly while pretending to open up a menu.

Yes, the little girl was definitely a Hyuuga. The famous milky white eyes and the jewel she was wearing; there was no mistaking it. Grinning, Kidomaru pulled out a cell phone and began dialing.

---

Ring, ring.

Sakura snatched out her cell phone and growled into it, "What?"

"Hello there too, Miss Sakura," a silky smooth voice floated out of the earpiece.

Instantly recognizing the voice, Sakura's eyes widened, and the pencil in her hand dropped, rolling over the essay she had been working diligently on.

"H-hold on a moment," she stammered, moving over to close and lock her bedroom door. Shakily, she sat back down in her chair. "What do you want?" Ever since their first encounter, the rational part of her mind kept on insisting that she stop all contact with Kabuto and his organization, lest she become involved in some dangerous plot. She had spent a few sleepless nights pondering on the right course of action, and in the end decided that if they could indeed help her, it would be worth the risk.

But now that the moment had come, she felt her old doubts resurface. Gulping she forced her attention back to the phone.

"This will be what we need you to do…" Kabuto began to explain.

---

Hinata gripped her stomach as the elevator lurched up ten stories in a matter of seconds. She thought she would have gotten used to it by now...

_Ding_

The metal doors opened and she stepped out in relief. Just another meeting with Neji-san today...

---

"Neji-sama, Hyuuga-sama has arrived."

Neji and Tenten looked up in the middle of their conversation. Neji nodded, "Let her in then."

Hinata came into the room a bit awkwardly, pressured by the feelings and questions in her mind. "Neji-san, Tenten," she bowed slowly.

"Hey Hinata," Tenten greeted casually, accompanying her wave with a large grin.

Neji cleared his throat, frowning at Hinata's inexplicable behavior, "Well?"

"Its about Hanabi."

Neji's chair screeched back as he suddenly stood up, making Tenten and Hinata both flinch.

"Tenten," He turned his head to her and politely but firmly stated, "I'll need you to leave for a moment."

She nodded and left, but not without looking curiously back- what were they going to talk about? What about Hanabi? Why was it that she always felt left out on something... she used to be able to talk to Neji without wondering how much he wasn't telling her... or maybe he had kept secrets and she'd never noticed... he was keeping one now.

Right before she closed the door she heard Neji's stern yet slightly concerned voice, "What is it?"

---

"What is it? What about Hanabi?"

"Today she... she...I was brushing her hair, and w-when she looked into the mirror, s-she smashed it and started crying. She wouldn't tell me why, but I th-think she might remember." Hinata looked down sadly, "Are you sure she's s-safe with me? What if she still remembers everything? She might really... hate me."

Neji looked at her thoughtfully, but then shook his head, "I doubt she can remember something from that long ago. And the goal of this is for her to not hate you. She might be the **anchor** for the curse."

"I d-don't think she feels any connection with me; the only connection we share is b-blood. We're almost strangers…a-and she never smiles near me… but... but th-there is someone I think she's close with..." Hinata trailed off, looking a bit uncertain.

"Who?" Neji quickly asked, startled.

"Kurenai-sensei. Th-they even went out for some ice cream today." She answered, smiling at the memory.

Neji closed his eyes, reflecting on this new bit of information... so Kurenai and Hanabi had gotten close... well, he _had _picked Kurenai for looking like **her**, but he had never really expected them to get along so well and so quickly. Still...

"And why didn't you go?"

"I... I had to c-come for this meeting." Hinata stuttered, looking down nervously.

Neji raised an eyebrow dubiously. She had obviously let them go alone on purpose.

"And is she wearing the necklace?" Neji inquired uneasily.

"She never takes it off." Hinata assured him timidly.

He turned in his chair to better look at his cousin, "Never let her take it off..."

_'Or her life will be lost.'_ The thought rang in both minds- the unspeakable truth.

---

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked cautiously; his master was in one of those moods in which you couldn't tell whether he was angry or pleased.

As if guessing his thoughts, the ghostly man whom Kabuto addressed laughed, an eerily distasteful sound. "I trust your judgment, Kabuto. You seem certain that this will help me get _Sasuke-kun_."

"During the chaos that follows, no one will notice if the Uchiha heir goes missing for a few moments, and when they do, it'll all be too late. Then without the aid of the Hyuugas, they'll never be able to track him here." The man named Kabuto smirked, a hand reaching up to adjust his glasses. "And, it will be a way of our taking revenge against the Hyuugas, after all the losses we suffered thanks to them. Hyuuga Neji caused us quite a bit of trouble, and provided a setback to your plans, Orochimaru-sama."

"If you say so." Orochimaru let out a deceptively casual shrug. "After all," the man's snakelike grin widened, "what was that quote again? The end justifies the means? It's a fitting motto for our organization, the **Akatsuki**, don't you think so?"

"… Yes, Orochimaru-sama."


End file.
